ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Climate Change

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) reviewed on the (i) chemical make-up and (ii) environmental impact of aircraft trails; and if he will make a statement.

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has evaluated on the effects of condensation trails on climate change.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 3 July 2006
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not directly undertake work in this area, but closely monitors research commissioned by the European Union, Research Councils and other Government Departments to identify, characterise, and assess the impact of aircraft emissions on global climate change.
	A major scientific report assessing the contribution of aircraft to climate change, "Aviation and the Global Atmosphere", was published in 1999 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). More recently, research carried out under the EU 5th Framework Project, TRADEOFF, has improved modelling techniques and reduced estimates of contrail radiative forcing by two fold compared with the previous estimate from the IPCC. Research carried out under the TRADEOFF project also supported the conclusion that aviation potentially enhances cirrus cloud coverage.
	Aircraft-induced cirrus clouds reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth, and so mitigate global warming. However, significant uncertainty surrounding this area of study makes it difficult to assess whether increased cloudiness would reduce or increase global warming trends.

Climate Change

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1692W, on greenhouse gases, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the rise in carbon dioxide emissions between 1997 and 2004.

Ian Pearson: The rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 1997 and 2004 was caused by higher than anticipated levels of economic growth and the recent rise in global energy prices which has altered the relative prices of coal and gas. However, CO2 emissions were still about 5.6 per cent. below 1990 levels and we expect CO2 emissions to fall again in the future given longer term expectations on fuel prices and as a result of policies introduced under the new Climate Change Programme.

Climate Change

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of achieving the target of increasing by 20 per cent. by 2010 the energy efficiency of residential accommodation in England pursuant to Section 217 of the Housing Act 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The net costs and benefits of existing and new policies were calculated for the Climate Change Programme review and presented in 2005 prices. Existing household energy efficiency measures have a net present value benefit of £65 billion and new household energy efficiency measures announced in the 2006 Climate Change Programme have a net present value benefit to consumers in the region of £13.5 billion, over the life of the policies. This is because the energy savings far outweigh the up front costs of the measures. This figure excludes improvements in air quality, which would make the benefits greater, if included.
	The evaluation synthesis report can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/ukccp/pdf/synthesisccpolicy-evaluations.pdf. We intend to publish the appraisal synthesis report in due course.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether his Department has assessed published research into the use of the gamma interferon tuberculosis test in other countries;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the gamma interferon tuberculosis test; and what sources of information he has used to inform that assessment.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 3 July 2006
	Defra has assessed research on the value and uses of the gamma interferon (gIFN) blood test in other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Europe. The test is now a standard tool in the cattle testing armoury of European countries with endemic TB problems, like the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Spain, Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
	The gIFN test can detect some infected animals that are negative in the SICCT test (skin test) and may detect animals at an earlier stage of infection. However, the gIFN test is slightly less specific than the SICCT test, which means that it is also more likely to incorrectly identify negative animals as being infected.
	In addition to evidence from overseas research, and in order to further improve bTB diagnostics, the Government have conducted a field trial to assess the potential benefits of using of the gIFN blood test in GB. This helped to establish that the use of this test, in parallel with the skin test, has the potential to significantly increase the detection of infected cattle where TB has been confirmed, and so hasten the elimination of infected cattle. Preparations are now being made for wider use of the gIFN test in prescribed circumstances. The results of the field trial on gIFN usage will be published shortly.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total land area of England was under an  (a) annual,  (b) two yearly,  (c) three yearly and  (d) four yearly bovine tuberculosis testing regime in 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 26 June 2006
	The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Hectares 
			 12 monthly testing 2,358,772.91 
			 24 monthly testing 1,186,483.65 
			 36 monthly testing 81,928.38 
			 48 monthly testing 9,660,595.9

Earthships

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of possible energy savings from  (a) the construction and  (b) use of buildings known as earthships; and what estimate he has made of the number of such constructions in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 3 July 2006
	My Department has made no assessment on possible energy savings from earthships, either in the construction, or the use of the buildings. We are not aware of any estimates made on the number constructed in the UK.

Independent Scientific Group

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will meet representatives of the Independent Scientific Group to discuss their findings.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer given 3 July 2006
	I met representatives of the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) on 24 April to discuss their findings and other related matters. The ISG inform me of new findings as they become available and their secretariat regularly send me summaries of all ISG meetings.

Landfill

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of land-filled waste in Gloucestershire came from commercial sources in the last period for which figures are available; and what steps are being taken to reduce this figure.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency publishes full details of the production and management of wastes in England and Wales on its website. The latest available figures, for 2002-03, show that 37.5 per cent. of landfilled waste in Gloucestershire came from commercial and industrial sources.
	Action to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill is driven by regional and local strategies and supported by nationally funded programmes.
	In its Regional Spatial Strategy, the South West regional assembly seeks to achieve a maximum of just 17 per cent. of commercial waste sent to landfill by 2020, reflecting the Regional Waste Strategy. Gloucestershire county council is the Waste Planning Authority, statutorily responsible for preparing a waste local plan. The current plan calls for a reduction of waste to landfill in support of national and regional targets.
	Defra's Business Resource and Efficiency Programme (BREW) funds a number of initiatives designed to help business use resources more efficiently and thus reduce waste. For example, Envirowise provides free advice to business on resource efficiency. The National Industrial Symbiosis Programme enables businesses to divert waste from landfill. The South West regional development agency manages local BREW funds within the region.

Organic Food

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government plan to take as part of their Organic Action Plan to encourage greater public procurement of organic food.

Ben Bradshaw: Following recommendations made in the Organic Action Plan's "Two years on" document, Defra has made organic food an integral part of its sustainable food strategy.
	My Department is currently leading a major initiative across Whitehall to support and encourage the purchase of more sustainable food by public authorities. The Food Procurement Implementation Group oversees this initiative and includes a number of bodies that are working on local initiatives to increase the demand for organic food and encourage more small producers to compete for public contracts.

Scientific Research

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Department has spent in each of the last five years on scientific research.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra's research budget for the years in question is:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 144 
			 2002-03 144 
			 2003-04 146 
			 2004-05 152 
			 2005-06 156

Water Companies

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received in each year since 2001 on Thames Water's price increases.

Ian Pearson: Ministers receive representations from customers, Members of Parliament and lobbyists, relating to water price increases. However, water price increases are a matter for Ofwat, who are responsible for regulating and fixing water and sewerage price limits.

Water Pollution

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is the cause of the green bloom in the waters of the Hampshire Avon below Amesbury; and what steps are  (a) being taken and  (b) planned to remedy the problem.

Ian Pearson: The cause of the green bloom in the waters of the Hampshire Avon below Amesbury is likely to be a combination of environmental factors, including high temperatures, low water flow and consequential increases in the concentration of nutrients. There have been no significant pollution incidents at this location in the river. Rainfall and river flows have been significantly depressed over the last 20 months and, in combination with other environmental factors, this may create opportunities for algal growth. However, the May 2006 period was characterised by periods of very high rainfall. Urban and agricultural runoff may lead to direct discolouration and also contribute to nutrient enrichment in the river.
	There is, and has been, significant investment and action to improve the quality for the Hampshire Avon in recent years.
	For example, four Wessex Water sewage treatment works discharging into the River Avon have had phosphate stripping installed in their treatment process as part of the previous environmental programme periodic review. Wessex Water's current water quality environment programme for 2005-10 includes schemes to further reduce nutrient loads from sewage effluent discharges. By the end of the 2010 period, two additional sewage treatment works discharging into the River Avon are expected to receive phosphate stripping and the phosphate limits set for the four original works are expected to be reduced to half of their currently permitted limit.
	In addition, as part of the requirement introduced by the habitats directive, the Environment Agency have asked Wessex Water to review their abstractions on the Hampshire Avon and assess their effect on the ecology of the river. The findings from this project, which will conclude by March 2008, will contribute to the Habitats Directive Review of Consents and may result in a requirement to reduce the amount of water abstracted by the water company, or for other improvements to be made in the companies' water management operations.
	Most recently, the Hampshire Avon catchment has been identified as a priority catchment under the England Catchment-Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative (ECSFDI). The key objective of this initiative is to raise awareness of agricultural pollution and encourage farmers to take action to mitigate the impact of agriculture on the water environment, including the reduction of nutrient inputs.
	The water framework directive (WFD) is a key driver of future action on water quality. The directive came into force on 22 December 2000 and requires member states to establish a range of measures to manage water quality by 2009 and to make them operational by 2012. A central objective of the directive is that water bodies should aim to reach good ecological and chemical status by 2015. We are working with stakeholders to develop mechanisms to tackle pressures, including both point and diffuse sources, for inclusion in River Basin Management Plans, and aim to consult on potential options for tackling non-agricultural, agricultural and hydromorphological pressures in the later part of 2006.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the  (a) Green and  (b) White Papers produced by his Department since October 2005, in date order.

Gareth Thomas: Since October 2005, DFID has published the following documents as part of the Command Paper Series:
	Autumn Performance Report, December 2005
	Departmental Report, May 2006

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what draft Bills have been produced by his Department since October 2005; how many  (a) were examined and  (b) are planned to be examined by (i) a Departmental Select Committee and (ii) a Joint Committee; what draft Bills are still to be produced by his Department; when each is expected to be published; how many clauses each has; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has not produced any draft Bills since October 2005. Announcements on future legislation and future draft legislation which will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny will be indicated in the Queen's Speech.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the deposited papers placed in the Library by his Department since 2000; and when they were published.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development has not kept a record of documents deposited in the Libraries prior to February 2003. Records of publication dates have not been kept. The titles are as follows:
	Additional IDA Resources: Financing the Multilateral Debt Initiative.
	Announcements at Asia 2015: Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty. 7th March London.
	Asia 2015: Summary of Conference Sessions.
	Asia 2015: Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty.
	Caribbean Development Bank: Replenishment of the Resources of the Special Development Fund SDF6: Resolution and Report of Contributors on SDF6.
	Contracts Awarded between 1/4/99 and 31/03/04.
	Contracts Awarded to Maxwell Stamp plc, HTS Consultants, British Council, Adam Smith Int Ltd and Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations between 2000 and 2005.
	Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty.
	DFID - Iraq Update. October 2004.
	DFID - Iraq Update. Issue 3. November 2004.
	DFID - Iraq Update. Issue 4. December 2004
	DFID - Iraq Update. Issue 5. January 2005.
	DFID - Statistics on International Development 2000/01 - 2004/05.
	DFID - The UK and the World Bank 2005.
	DFID Contracts Issued 1st April 2004 - 31st March 2005.
	DFID Interim Strategy for Afghanistan 2005/06.
	DFID Skills and Development Plans. 2005 - 2006.
	DFID Top 20 Consultancy Firms, 1999 to 2004.
	DFID Water Sanitation Projects funded during the Financial Years 2003/04 and 2004/05.
	DFID's Maternal Health Strategy, Reducing Maternal Deaths: Evidence in Action; First Progress Report.
	Disability, Poverty and Development.
	Expenditure by DFID on Development Assistance to Developing Countries from 1995/96 to 2004/05.
	Fighting Poverty to build a safer World.
	From Commitment to Action.
	GCPP Iraq Strategy Projects Supported in Iraq - 2003 Onwards.
	Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa. February 2006 Update.
	Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa. April 2006 Update.
	Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa. May 2006 Update.
	Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa. June 2006 Update.
	Governance Matters IV: New Data, New Challenges.
	Growth and Poverty Reduction: The Role of Agriculture.
	Harm Reduction. Tackling drug use and HIV in the developing world.
	Implementation of the Commission for Africa recommendations and G8 Gleneagles commitments on Poverty - The UK.
	Iraq Update. Issue 6. February 2005.
	List of CDC's New Investment and Disposals, 1999 - 2004.
	Memorandum for Understanding between the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Rwanda.
	Mortality Survey among Displaced Persons and the other affected populations in Greater Sudan, Darfur.
	Partnerships for Poverty Reduction: Rethinking Conditionally.
	Policy on Religious Observance.
	Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit - Consultancy document.
	Projects Funded under DFID's Civil Society Challenge Fund - 2002/03 and 2003/04.
	Reducing The Risk of Disasters - Helping to achieve sustainable poverty reduction in a vulnerable world. A DFID Policy Paper.
	Regional Assistance Plan for Latin America 2004/07.
	Report on DFID's Response to the Indian Ocean Disaster: March 2006.
	Report on the Outcomes of DFID Nigeria's CAP Consultations with Key Stakeholders in Nigeria and the UK. Final Draft 16/7/04.
	Responding to Children and AIDS. Speech by Gareth Thomas PUSS. Washington. December 2004.
	Response to HM Government to the Recommendations in the report of the Africa All Party Parliamentary Group: 'The Other Side of the Coin'
	St Helena: Access.
	Statement by Executive Directors Representing European Countries on the Selection of the President of the World Bank.
	Statistics on International Development 99/00 - 03/04.
	Statistics on International Development 99/00 - 03/04 to IDC.
	The Commission for Africa Report vs the Gleneagles Communique on Africa.
	The UK and Afghanistan.
	The UK and the World Bank.
	Trade and Development Package for G90.
	Trade Matters, Eliminating World Poverty.
	Trade Matters.
	Tsunami Follow Up.
	UK Presidency Conclusions from Tsunami Follow-Up Event, 20th December 2005: Brussels.
	Why we need to work more effectively in fragile states.

Departmental Travel

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to ensure that all flights undertaken by Ministers and officials in his Department are carbon neutral; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is strongly committed to the targets set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. DFID has established its own pilot carbon offsetting scheme (the Earthmiles initiative), whereby air miles from official travel with certain airlines are donated for the benefit of environmental projects.
	All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases Certified Emissions Reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.

Health Sector Assistance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations his Department has received from developing countries regarding health sector assistance.

Gareth Thomas: DFID receives a variety of representations from groups and organisations seeking support. However, most of our development assistance is managed through DFID's country offices, who are in daily contact with developing country partners, non-governmental organisations and civil society in-country. We are therefore unlikely to receive formal representations as such because we keep in regular contact regarding health sector development and assistance through our strong in-country partnerships.

Judicial Review

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what occasions an  (a) individual and  (b) organisation has applied for a judicial review of decisions of his Department in each year since 1997; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed.

Gareth Thomas: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Malawi

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the implementation of the health sector support plan for Malawi.

Gareth Thomas: Progress with Malawi health sector-wide approach (SWAp) is reviewed jointly, twice a year by Government and donors, of whom DFID is the largest with a commitment of £100 million over six years.
	Progress has been good. In addition to the earlier successes of the eradication of polio and the elimination of neonatal tetanus and the increasing distribution of bed nets and their re-treatment (up from 7 per cent. in 2002 to 71 per cent. in 2004-05), the health service has taken on a rapid increase in antiretroviral treatment for HIV and AIDS. 50 sites have treated 46,000 people up from 3,000 two years ago. This is making a real difference: both saving lives and improving the quality of life of those living with HIV and AIDS.
	Critical to this success has been the additional resources made available at hospital and clinic level as a result of the increased aid channelled through the health SWAp. The Emergency Human Resources Programme has in its first year recruited an extra 580 Malawian health professionals. There are 60 volunteer specialists and nurse tutors from overseas filling key vacant posts. The intake of Malawian trainee nurses and doctors has been increased in anticipation of the improvements in infrastructure at training schools that are now under way. New, internationally recruited senior managers have taken over the central medical stores management and are charged with bringing to an end the perennial stock outs that have frustrated the health services. A new maternal mortality road map offers a way forward to address the unacceptably high level of maternal deaths in Malawi. The Ministry of Health is entering service level agreements with private sector providers, particularly the Christian Hospital Association of Malawi, that will also provide the basic essential health package free-of-charge at point of delivery.
	We are encouraging the Government of Malawi to plan for universal access for HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment and to address the further human resources and management requirements that will create. We stand ready to help.

Ministerial Conference (Paris)

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2006 to the right hon. Member for Leeds, West (John Battle),  Official Report, columns 429-30W, on Ministerial Conference (Paris), whether the UK has agreed to implement the airline ticket levy for international development; what progress has been made on negotiations on whether part of the levy will go towards health and sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is committed to developing innovative financing mechanisms to support accelerated progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, and announced at the Paris Conference on Innovative Financing on 28 February and 1 March 2006 that it will hypothecate part of its existing air passenger duty to provide a long-term stream of finance to the International Finance Facility (IFF) and the pilot IFF for Immunization.
	The International Finance Facility is specifically designed to provide the immediate and significant level of funding that is required to support progress towards all the millennium development goals by 2015. The IFF would support significant progress on health in general, as well as on sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services. The frontloading principles of the IFF are already being applied to the health sector through the IFF for immunisation, which will provide $4 billion for vaccinations and is expected to save a total of 10 million lives, including five million children before 2015.

Plant Breeding

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the potential of effective competition legislation to tackle monopolies of rights relating to plant varieties by private sector companies.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government consider that the UK's system of plant breeders' rights already provides adequate provisions to address any potential anti-competitive practices. The UK's system is based on the 1991 Convention of the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (the UPOV Convention) enabled by the Plant Varieties Act 1997 (the Act).
	Plant breeders who hold rights exercise control over their protected varieties in order to enable them to recoup development costs and to fund further breeding programmes. Although this is necessary for the development of this sector, there are exceptions to their rights:
	i. Section 8 of the Act provides that breeders' rights do not extend to acts done for either private or non-commercial purposes, for experimental purposes, or for the purpose of breeding another variety, and;
	ii. Section 17 of the Act makes provision for compulsory licences to be granted to third parties where the Controller of Plant Variety Rights is satisfied that this is necessary to ensure that the variety in question, is available to the public at reasonable prices, is widely distributed, or is maintained in quality.
	These provisions ensure that plant breeders' rights are not monopolistic.

Plant Breeding

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the recommendations of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR), how the Government are promoting  (a) through the Treaty of Amsterdam Article 133 committee and  (b) at the meeting of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, the rights of countries (i) not to grant patents for plants and animals, including genes and genetically modified plants and animals and (ii) to provide for the rights of farmers to save and plant-back seed and to allow informal sale and exchange of seeds; and if he will make representations to revise the Convention on the Protection of New Varieties of Plants to support the CIPR's recommendations.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have no immediate plans to make representations through either the Treaty of Amsterdam Article 133 Committee or the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which deals with systems of plant variety protection but not patents, to promote the recommendations of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR).
	In their response to the CIPR report, the Government stressed their commitment to the effective protection of intellectual property rights to stimulate continued innovation. The Government do not regard this as incompatible with the interests of developing countries in respect of plant variety protection or the rights of farmers to plant farm-saved seed which are afforded protection by Article 27.3(b) of the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Article 15 (2) of the 1991 UPOV Convention respectively.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Atomic Energy Agencies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the United Kingdom's annual contribution has been to the  (a) European Atomic Energy Agency and  (b) International Atomic Energy Agency since 1997; what proportion of each payment was made by the United Kingdom (i) public sector and (ii) private sector nuclear industries; and what plans he has to review the level of the annual UK contribution to each organisation.

Malcolm Wicks: As a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UK is obliged to pay its contribution to the Regular Budget, which pays for most of the IAEA's work and the running of the Agency itself, and is expected to make a payment to the Technical Cooperation Fund, which pays for the IAEA's development programmes in less developed countries. As a UN Agency, UK Government have the responsibility for making these payments.
	The UK's contributions to the Regular Budget and Technical Cooperation Fund since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Regular budget  Technical cooperation fund 
			 1997 7,670,799 2,249,969 
			 1998 5,950,148 2,368,000 
			 1999 6,143,449 2,267,527 
			 2000 6,291,197 2,386,354 
			 2001 6,561,613 2,577,181 
			 2002 7,459,727 2,504,581 
			 2003 8,019,673 2,470,974 
			 2004 9,083,332 2,250,836 
			 2005 9,811,000 2,405,954 
			 2006 10,994,536 2,656,536 
		
	
	The UK's Regular Budget and Technical Cooperation Fund payments are fixed by reference to slightly modified standardised UN contribution rates. The modification arises because the state membership of the IAEA is not identical to that of the UN, and developing countries were initially "shielded" from paying the full costs of the safeguards component of the Regular Budget. The UK accordingly, this year, paid 6.137 per cent. of the total Regular Budget. The future level of the annual UK contribution to the IAEA will be determined by UN contribution rates at the time.
	In addition, the UK has made a number of voluntary contributions to the IAEA since 1997, including contributions totalling £2.6 million to support the Agency's safeguards work, £2 million to the IAEA's Nuclear Security Fund, and £500,000 to support IAEA work to improve internal management processes. Additional non-financial "in-kind" support to help the Agency deliver its safeguards and other activities is provided through the UK nuclear industry, however the financial value of this could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.
	The UK remains committed to our contribution to the IAEA and the only review of the UK contribution we would seek is to manage down the budget through the achievement of organisational efficiencies.
	The UK's contribution to the European Atomic Energy Agency (EAEA) is paid through the UK's general contribution to the European Commission's budget. The EAEA's share of the UK contribution could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Business Reviews

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures will be put in place to ensure that the business reviews proposed in the Company Law Reform Bill [Lords] will be comparable  (a) over successive years and  (b) between companies.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 26 June 2006
	As clause 399 subsection (2) of the Company Law Reform Bill sets out, the purpose of the Business Review is to inform members of the company and help them assess how the directors have performed their duty under section 158, which requires a director, in performing his duty to promote the success of the company, to have regard (among other matters) to: (a) the likely consequences of any decision in the long term, (b) the interests of the company's employees, (c) the need to foster the company's business relationships with suppliers, customers and others, (d) the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment, (e) the desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct, and (f) the need to act fairly as between members of the company. Subsection (4) of clause 399 requires that the Review is a balanced and comprehensive analysis of (a) the development and performance of the company's business during the financial year, and (b) the position of the company's business at the end of that year, consistent with the size and complexity of the business. The statutory provisions therefore set out the framework of the Business Review, but it is for directors of each company to determine its content according to the circumstances of the particular company. As subsection (6) requires, to the extent necessary for an understanding of the development, performance and position of the company's business, the review must include analysis using key performance indicators. Such indicators will make it easier for members to assess the development, performance and position of the company from year to year.

Compensation Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many  (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,  (b) vibration white finger and  (c) hearing loss claims have been registered by his Department without further particulars of claim subsequently being submitted.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 29 June 2006
	As at 26 June 2006, the Department has 18,203 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims and 1,043 vibration white finger claims with insufficient information to enable them to be progressed. This situation does not arise for hearing loss claims which do not have to be registered in the same way as they are not schemed.

Energy Use

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the energy models his Department uses  (a) to calculate the geographic and sectoral distribution of UK energy usage and  (b) to project future energy usage are made available to independent energy analysts on request.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The breakdown of energy usage by local authority area for domestic, industrial and commercial users are only partially based on energy models. The gas and electricity data are based on actual metered consumption and are collected by DTI under the National Statistics code of practice and protocols. Since these data relate to individual consumers this precludes release to independent energy analysts. The road transport and other fuels data are modelled, and are prepared for DTI by independent consultants. The way these estimates are put together has been described in various articles in the DTI's statistical bulletin "Energy Trends", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House and at http://www.dti. gov.uk/energy/statistics/publications/trends/index.html
	 (b) The DTI routinely shares knowledge and experience of our modelling with outside agents. The model has not been made available to other users, though substantial material on the basis of the modelling approach can be found on the Updated Energy Projections webpage at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/environment/projections/index.html

Environmental Regulations

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulatory simplification proposals his Department has received in relation to environmental regulations since the start of the initiative; which stakeholders have been consulted on each proposal; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has received two proposals in relation to environmental regulations under the simplify@dti system. These were in relation to the waste electrical and electronic equipment directive and the restriction of hazardous substances directive. In the first instance, since the request was received, I initiated a wide-ranging review of all elements of WEEE policy. Following this review my Department conducted an informal consultation in which a large number of stakeholders were consulted. In the second instance, the suggestion received was examined and found to be untenable as it would have undermined the purpose of the directive.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what annual fees have been recovered from  (a) publicly owned nuclear companies,  (b) non-departmental public bodies dealing with nuclear issues and  (c) privately owned nuclear companies for the security-related service provided to them by his Department's Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) in each year since the OCNS has had semi-autonomous status.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  OCNS fees 
			  £ 
			   Financial year 
			  Category  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  (a) Publicly owned 813,531 1,047,561 1,317,639 1,405,489 1,339,775 
			  (b) NDPB 328,271 503,378 370,532 423,792 495,647 
			  (c) Privately owned 186,265 168,060 105,000 375,234 524,288 
			 Total fees 1,328,067 1,718,999 1,793,171 2,204,515 2,359,710 
		
	
	A breakdown of fees for the period 1 October 2000 (when OCNS became part of DTI) and 31 March 2001 is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Waste Strategy

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which organisations were consulted during the waste strategy consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The consultation on the review of England's waste strategy was open to the public and anyone was welcome to respond. More than 2,500 invitations were sent out to stakeholders including environmental non-Government organisations, central Government, local government, universities, waste and recycling industry, media, consultancies, voluntary and community organisations, trade associations and other interested parties. A full list of the organisations invited to respond is available on the Defra website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/wastestratreview/consultlist.htm.

DEFENCE

Defence Training Review

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast date is for financial close of the two packages of the Defence Training Review public finance initiative programme.

Tom Watson: The current forecast date for financial close of the two packages of the Defence Training Review is end 2007. This date, however, is subject to a satisfactory conclusion to the evaluation and approval process, the Preferred Bidders selected and future analysis currently being conducted on the management of risks related to the delivery of the solutions.

Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Apache Mk1 helicopters have been grounded since entering service.

Adam Ingram: The term "grounded" has a particular meaning for the Ministry of Defence and refers to an aircraft which is awaiting the resolution of a specific technical query where the answer may affect airworthiness.
	Since entering service in January 2001 no Apache Mkl helicopters have been grounded.

Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times Lynx  (a) Mk7 and  (b) Mk9 helicopters have been grounded because of mechanical problems in the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: The term "grounded" has a particular meaning for the Ministry of Defence and refers to an aircraft which is awaiting the resolution of a specific technical query where the answer may affect airworthiness.
	No Lynx Mk7 or Mk9 helicopter has been grounded for any reason in the last 12 months.

Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force  (a) Chinook,  (b) Merlin,  (c) Sea King and  (d) Puma helicopters are (i) in service and (ii) fit for purpose.

Adam Ingram: "In service aircraft" are those located at front line and training units. An aircraft described as "fit for purpose" is available, reliable, airworthy and capable of carrying out its planned mission on a given date. The numbers of "fit for purpose" aircraft will vary; the following figures are the average for May 2006.
	
		
			   In service  Fit for purpose 
			 Chinook Mk2/Mk2a 28 16 
			 Merlin Mk3 14 8 
			 Sea King 17 9 
			 Puma 26 18

Iraq/Afghanistan Visits

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on which occasions  (a) he and  (b) his Ministers have visited (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan since January 2005.

Des Browne: Defence Ministers make frequent visits to all theatres of operation where United Kingdom forces are serving. Since I became the Secretary of State for Defence I have visited Iraq on two occasions and Afghanistan once. Information about these and other visits made by Defence Ministers since 1 January 2005 is in the following table.
	
		
			   Countries visited 
			  Secretary of State for Defence  
			 16 to 18 May 2005 Iraq 
			 20 September to 3 October 2005 Afghanistan 
			 2 to 3 December 2005 Iraq 
			 17 to 20 March 2006 Iraq 
			 23 to 26 April 2006 Afghanistan 
			 16 to 18 May 2006 Iraq 
			 11 to 14 June 2006 Afghanistan 
			 18 to 22 June 2006 Iraq 
			   
			  Minister for the Armed Forces  
			 6 to 9 March 2005 Iraq 
			 14 to 18 July 2005 Afghanistan 
			   
			  Minister for Defence Procurement  
			 6 to 8 July 2005 Iraq

Military Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank,  (b) Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle,  (c) Saxon Armoured Personnel Carrier and  (d) (i) Sabre, (ii) Spartan, (iii) Scimitar, (iv) Striker, (v) Samson, (vi) Samaritan and (vii) Sultan armoured vehicles are (A) in service and (B) operationally deployable.

Adam Ingram: The following table details the numbers of armoured vehicles currently in service and operationally deployable as at 21 April 2006:
	
		
			  Equipment  Fleet size  Operationally deployable 
			 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (CR2 MET) 385 327 
			 Saxon 622 579 
			 Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle (all variants) 794 735 
			 Spartan 478 452 
			 Scimitar 328 303 
			 Striker 48 47 
			 Samson 50 48 
			 Samaritan 50 46 
			 Sultan 205 196 
		
	
	The figures quoted for the fleet size include vehicles that are undergoing planned programmed repair and modification, being used for training, with the Design Authority for trials and testing, or in storage.
	The operationally deployable figures include vehicles that are undergoing repairs at Unit level and undergoing Bowman conversion.
	At any one time a number of the deployable fleet will be undergoing minor repairs in situ at the Unit, and a proportion may be involved in scheduled upgrade programmes, for example Bowman conversion. The number of vehicles available for immediate deployment therefore fluctuates continuously. If a Unit drops below a pre-determined number of deployable vehicles, due to vehicles requiring repair beyond the capability of the Unit and its supporting Battalion, a replacement vehicle is provided.
	The Sabre and Scorpion (and variants) have not been included as these vehicles were withdrawn from service in 2004 and 1995 respectively.

Nuclear Deterrent

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his policy to retain a strategic nuclear deterrent in the long-term.

Des Browne: The Labour party manifesto at the 2005 general election committed the Government to retaining the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent. We have previously made clear that this commitment effectively applies for the life of the current system. No decisions, either in principle or detail, have yet been taken on the position beyond that point. But as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in the House on 28 June, these decisions will be taken later this year.

Records Management

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules are established in the Joint Service Defence Records Management Manual concerning the classes or categories of documents that must be retained in the circumstances of a sudden or controversial death; how long these records have to be retained; and what penalties are available following the successful prosecution of a person responsible for the retention of a document or piece of evidence in the event of its destruction.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Records Management Manual does not refer specifically to classes or categories of documents relating to sudden or controversial death. Retention of such records may be defined separately: for example, copies of the reports of all Boards of Inquiry into unnatural deaths are required to be held centrally for a minimum of 25 years. Personnel files are preserved in the Department for at least 100 years from the individual's date of birth. The penalties available in the event of any prosecution would depend on the offence that it was alleged had been committed.

Reservists

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists have not received bounty payments for training year 2005-06; what the reasons are for the delay; what steps are being taken to compensate reservists for late payments; and what steps his Department is taking to address any impact on the morale of those reservists affected.

Tom Watson: Of those reservists who qualified for a bounty in 2005-06, six RNR cases have not yet been paid due to technical queries but they are in the pay system and should be paid in July. In addition, there are 25 members of the RNR who have not fulfilled the strict bounty and eligibility requirements but whose cases are being considered further to see if a waiver is appropriate.
	The TA is currently looking into around 27 cases to check that eligibility requirements have been met.
	The RAuxAF have paid bounty to all eligible personnel and have no outstanding cases.

SA80 Rifle

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long he expects the SA80 rifle to remain in service in the UK armed forces; and what research is being conducted on a possible replacement.

Adam Ingram: The SA80 rifle has an out of service date of 2020. The UK has completed a calibre study to determine the effect required by the next generation of small arms. This research will be continued by the Ministry of Defence.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on reform of the Arts Council.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 3 July 2006
	The Arts Council underwent a Peer Review in 2005 which identified a number of key areas for reform. These included the role and structure of its national office, how the Arts Council engages with its stakeholders and how it works with Government.
	The Arts Council is responding in each of these areas. A new structure and role for the Arts Council's national office will be in place by the autumn. Engagement with its stakeholders will be improved by addressing issues that arise during an extensive consultation exercise with the sector and the public more widely over the coming months. A new Funding Agreement between my Department and the Arts Council will provide a central focus for the way the Arts Council works with Government.

Casinos

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether guidance will be issued to local authorities to ensure that new casino licensing regulations are applied consistently.

Richard Caborn: The Gambling Commission is responsible for issuing guidance to licensing authorities on the manner in which they exercise their functions under the Act. The Commission published the first part of its "Guidance to Licensing Authorities" in April 2006, and this dealt with the development and preparation of local premises licensing policies, including those in respect of casinos.
	The Commission will issue further guidance about the regulation of casinos and other gambling premises in due course. All local authorities must have regard to this guidance when carrying out functions under the Act.
	The Department is also developing a training package for local authority councillors and officers.

Commonwealth Institute

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of her correspondence with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the Commonwealth Institute building.

David Lammy: It is a long standing convention that information relating to internal discussions and advice is not normally disclosed.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the cost of making payments to the victims of terrorism abroad at the level of the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 3 July 2006
	The Government have announced that they will make a £1 million donation to a charitable fund to offer immediate financial assistance to victims of terrorism abroad.
	Details of the fund are still being finalised in discussion with the British Red Cross, but it will not be a statutory compensation scheme in the manner of the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme. Payments made will not be comparable to those of the CICS but will be at a level that ensures that the contributions made to the fund can support all those who need to claim from it.
	Further details will be announced in the coming months.

Free TV Licences

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will extend free television licences to those pensioners below the age of 75 years who are in receipt of pension credit; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: No. As indicated in the BBC Charter Review White Paper published in March this year, concessions have been proposed for a wide range of groups during the Charter Review process. However, there was little consensus as to the criteria on which such concessions should be allocated or how they should be funded. The Government do not therefore propose any changes to the existing range of concessions.

Heritage Protection

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the White Paper on heritage protection.

David Lammy: We hope to publish a White Paper in the autumn 2006.

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Private Members' Bills were drafted by her Department in each session since 1997; and which subsequently received Royal Assent.

David Lammy: Members will consider a range of possible subjects before introducing their Private Members' Bills.
	Government draftsmen do draft some Bills in advance which are available as one of the options for Members to consider before they make their selection.
	However, Members may make subsequent amendments or revisions to a Government drafted Bill, or use it as the basis for a Private Members' Bill in the future.
	The information requested is therefore not collected.

Music

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on Government support for music and music education.

David Lammy: The Government are committed to supporting music in all its forms. We are achieving this through increased investment—funding for music through Arts Council England has more than doubled since 1997 to over £100 million this year.
	My Department continues to work very closely with the Department for Education and Skills on the Music Manifesto, which will celebrate its second anniversary this month. This sets out a series of shared aims for music education and has the support of over 550 signatories from across the education, cultural and music sectors.
	Responsibility for music within schools falls to the Department for Education and Skills.
	Through the Live Music Forum, we are working to ensure that opportunities for the promotion of live music are realised to the full.

Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the removal by Sport England of grant to the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I am advised that Sport England has supported the work of the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG) for a number of years, with a grant of £12,000 per annum. This sum was a contribution towards PWTAG's general work in connection with pool water treatment and the preparation of its reference book, "Swimming Pool Water". Unfortunately, due to budgetary pressures, Sport England is now unable to continue this funding and has had to reluctantly withdraw it.
	I have asked Sport England for further background information on this decision.

Select Committee Recommendations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action has been taken by her Department to implement Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 session; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The following table lists all the Reports from the Culture, Media and Sport select committee to which the Government have responded since the 2001-02 session. An update on all select committee recommendations could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Government in their responses to reports make clear whether or not they accept the Committee's recommendations.
	
		
			   Government response 
			  Session 2005-06  
			 Analogue Switch-off: A signal change in television (HC 650) Cm 6850 
			 Broadcasting Rights for Cricket (HC 720) Cm 6772 
			   
			  Session 2004-05  
			 Public Libraries (HC 81) Cm 6648 
			 A public BBC (HC 82) Cm 6474 
			 Theatre (HC 254) Cm 6644 
			 Maritime Heritage and Historic Ships (HC 296) HC 385 of session 2005-06 
			 Market for Art (HC 414) Cm 6643 
			   
			  Session 2003-04  
			 Cultural objects: developments since 2000 (HC 59) Cm6149 
			 Broadcasting in Transition (HC380) HC 380 of session 2003-04 
			 Reform of the National Lottery (HC 196) Cm 6232 
			 Arts Development: Dance (HC 587) Cm 6326 
			 Drugs and role models in sport: making and setting examples (HC 499) Cm 6347 
			 Work of the Department in 2002-03 (HC 404) Cm 6242 
			   
			  Session 2002-03  
			 National Museums and Galleries: Funding and Free Admission (HC 85) Cm 5772 
			 A London Olympic bid for 2012 (HC 268) Cm 5867 
			 The structure and strategy for supporting tourism (HC 65) Cm 5790 
			 Privacy and media intrusion (HC 458) Cm 5985 
			 The British film industry (HC 667) Cm 6022 
			   
			  Session 2001-02  
			 The Government's proposals for gambling: nothing to lose? (HC 827) Cm 5622 
			 Communications (HC 539) Cm 5554 
			 Arts Development (HC 489) Cm 5533 
			 Testing the waters: the sport of swimming (HC 418) Cm 5480 
			 Revisiting the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games (HC 842) Cm 5576 
			 Wembley National Stadium project: into injury time (HC 843) Cm 5582 
			 Unpicking the Lock: The World Athletics Championships in the UK (HC 264) Cm 5448

Urban Regeneration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the role of culture in urban regeneration.

David Lammy: Responses to the Department's consultation document "Culture at the Heart of Regeneration", published in June 2004, made clear the huge interest there is in culturally-driven regeneration in a variety of contexts, both urban and rural.
	We know, therefore, that culture can be a driving force in achieving urban regeneration. Examples of where this has happened can be found right across the country, from the iconic cultural buildings of Newcastle-Gateshead and Salford Quays to the Eden Centre in Cornwall. We are working across Government and with our cultural bodies to ensure that the value of culture is understood by planners, developers and others, and supports regeneration.

Welsh Language TV

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government provided to support the production of television programmes in the Welsh language in each year since 1997.

Shaun Woodward: Government funding for the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority, S4C, for each calendar year since 1997, was:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997 72.223 
			 1998 74.895 
			 1999 77.134 
			 2000 78.218 
			 2001 80.745 
			 2002 81.468 
			 2003 83.634 
			 2004 85.729 
			 2005 88.690 
		
	
	S4C also receives a minimum of 10 hours of Welsh language programmes each week from the BBC, free of charge.

TRANSPORT

Aviation

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date airlines using UK airports will be required to comply with EU legislation on the rights of passengers with disabilities travelling by air.

Gillian Merron: The European Commission's proposal for a regulation on air passenger rights for people with reduced mobility has been agreed by the European Parliament and was adopted at a meeting of the Council on 9 June. The majority of the provisions will enter into force two years after adoption, although a ban on discrimination against disabled persons and those with reduced mobility will enter into force after one year.

Aviation

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the Access to Air Travel for Disabled People Code of Practice following the treatment by Iberia Airlines of a group of deaf passengers on their flight from London Heathrow in July 2004.

Gillian Merron: As a Spanish carrier, Iberian Airlines are not subject to the UK voluntary code "Access to Air Travel for Disabled People Code of Practice".
	The European Commission's proposal for a regulation on air passenger rights for people with reduced mobility has been agreed by the European Parliament, and was adopted at a meeting of the Council on 9 June.
	The Government is looking to publish the findings of a research project shortly, which assessed the UK aviation industry's adherence to the voluntary code "Access to Air Travel for Disabled People Code of Practice". These findings will be used to determine whether to bring UK aviation within the scope of domestic disability legislation, having regard to the forthcoming EU Regulation.

Concessionary Parking

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities provide  (a) wholly free parking and  (b) a concessionary parking scheme for (i) disabled blue badge holders and (ii) senior citizens.

Gillian Merron: This information is not collected centrally and an estimate could be made only at disproportionate cost

Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost to his Department was of replying to a letter written  (a) by an hon. Member and  (b) by a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum was accounted for by (i) officials' time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs.

Gillian Merron: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 76-78WS.
	The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Credit Unions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department will provide information and membership forms for credit unions to its employees.

Gillian Merron: The Government welcome the contribution made by the various savings institutions in providing for greater choice and diversity in the financial services sector.
	The Government's guiding principles are to ensure impartiality and to help create a level playing field for all providers of financial services in order that their specific attributes can be properly harnessed.
	It would therefore be inconsistent for a Government Department to favour credit unions above other financial institutions. Employees are of course free to join credit unions if they meet the relevant membership criteria and Departments may provide appropriate levels of support if employees wish to set up a credit union.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in date order the  (a) Green and  (b) White Papers produced by his Department since October 2005.

Gillian Merron: There have been no Green or White Papers published by the Department since October 2005.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many successful applications for the release of information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vehicle register were made in each year since 2002; and how many such applications were made by  (a) the police,  (b) local authorities,  (c) motor manufacturers,  (d) housing associations,  (e) the Environment Agency and  (f) organisations enforcing parking restrictions on private land in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The approximate number of requests for information from the police since 2002 is:
	
		
			   Million 
			 2002-03 9.6 
			 2003-04 11.2 
			 2004-05 9.8 
			 2005-06 10.2 
		
	
	DVLA does not maintain separate figures on the total number of requests made by local authorities, motor manufacturers, housing associations or organisations enforcing parking restrictions on private land. The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department expects to publish its conclusions relating to its recent review of regulations governing the release of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency information.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) of 15 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1416W.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many requests were made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for the release of information from the vehicle register under Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles Regulations 2002 in each year since 2002; and how many were successful in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The agency does not record how many requests were received and subsequently approved or declined under each individual piece of legislation. Consequently the agency does not have a record of how many requests were received, approved or declined under Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002.

Local Transport Budgets

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what formula is used for calculating how much local transport authorities receive for their annual transport budget; and what factors were included in compiling this formula.

Gillian Merron: Two formulae influence different parts of local authorities' transport capital allocations from the Department for Transport.
	Firstly a formula is used to distribute the vast majority of the funding support provided for capital highways maintenance. The factors currently considered in this formula relate to roads and bridges. For roads, they are the lengths and conditions of an authority's principal, classified non-principal and unclassified roads. For bridges, they are the size of the bridge stock and the numbers of bridges requiring strengthening or major maintenance. A minimum amount for bridges per authority of £100,000 is applied. The combined roads and bridges allocations are adjusted to ensure an authority's total allocation does not vary by more than 25 per cent. from the previous year.
	Secondly, a formula is being introduced to influence the distribution of the integrated transport block (which is for improvements to local roads and public transport, each of which generally costs less than £5 million). The factors considered in this formula are related directly or indirectly to the transport shared priorities, as agreed between Government and the Local Government Association in 2002. The priorities and variables are shown in the following table. In addition, the formulaic distribution of funding takes into account previous ministerial commitments, European Union objective one designations and South East growth areas.
	
		
			  Transport shared priority  Formula variable (More = more funding) 
			 Road safety Road casualty numbers 
			 Accessibility Degree of deprivation rural population 
			 Congestion and accessibility Bus and light rail patronage 
			 Congestion Population (weighted towards large towns) 
			 Air quality Districts in Air Quality Management Areas 
		
	
	A further formula related to highways maintenance is used within the calculations for the distribution of revenue support grant. This grant supports local authority transport budgets, but it is not allocated by the Government between individual council services.

London Underground

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government subsidy was paid to London Underground in each year between 1997 and responsibility passing to Transport for London.

Gillian Merron: London Underground Limited (LUL) was transferred from central Government to Transport for London (TfL) on 15 July 2003. The following table sets out the grant paid to London Regional Transport (LRT), the subsequent amount provided to LUL from that grant including funding for the Jubilee line extension.
	
		
			  £ million (cash) 
			   London Regional Transport Grant( 1,2)  Of which for London Underground capital and operations( 1)  Of which for Jubilee Line extension construction 
			 1997-98 630 544 506 
			 1998-99 411 313 267 
			 1999-2000 816 637 498 
			 2000-01 315 227 — 
			 2001-02(3) 483 460 — 
			 2002-03(3) 767 742 — 
			 2003-04(4,5) 867 1,218 — 
			 (1) Up to July 2000 (when TfL was established) a single grant was paid to LRT to support LUL, London Buses, Croydon Tramlink etc. LUL grant was not recorded separately by the Department and figures for LUL are provided by their accounts.  (2) Between July 2000 and July 2003 the grant provided to LRT was primarily for LUL, but see (3) as follows.  (3 )In 2001-02 LRT spent £24 million and in 2002-03 £25 million on restructuring and re-organising LT Group, principally on LUL prior to the implementation of the Public Private Partnership (PPP).  (4 )In 2003-04 the grant for LUL was paid to LRT until July 2003 when LUL transferred to TfL. The remaining balance of £351 million for LUL in 2003-04 was paid as part of the GLA Transport Grant from August 2003 and is not included in the LRT Grant total for that year.  (5 )LRT Grant for 2003-04 included £182 million deferred payment from 2002-03 due to the delayed start of the PPP contracts.

Motorways

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated  (a) book cost,  (b) renewal cost and  (c) market value is of the (i) motorway and (ii) trunk road network.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency values the motorway and trunk road network in England at depreciated replacement cost and the values at 31 March 2006 were (i) £42.471 billion for motorways and (ii) £33.726 billion for trunk roads.
	Due to the specialised nature of this asset an open market value cannot be determined for the motorway and trunk road network.

Number Plate Cloning

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many car number plate cloning incidents were recorded in  (a) Yeovil constituency,  (b) Somerset and  (c) the South West region in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

Offshore Wind Farms

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals in the Maritime Coastguard Agency are working on responses to offshore wind farm applications; and what estimate he has made of the length of time which will elapse between receipt of and response to outstanding applications.

Stephen Ladyman: The consideration of the maritime safety element of offshore wind farm applications is the responsibility of one individual in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), consulting with colleagues on matters of technical detail, as necessary.
	The MCA has recently adopted a target to process applications within 90 days of receipt.

Post Office Network Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what services  (a) his Department and  (b) its associated public bodies (i) make available and (ii) have made available in the last five years through the Post Office network; through how many outlets the service is or was made available; and how many relevant transactions were undertaken in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: (i) A Vehicle Re-licensing (car tax renewal) and a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) service is provided over the counter in approximately 4,600 Motor Vehicle Licensing (MVL) Post Office® branches. Postal applications are handled in 120 of these branches.
	A Photocard Driving Licence Premium Service, checking application forms and supporting identity documents, is provided in approximately 740 Post Office® branches.
	A range of vehicle and driving licence forms, leaflets and booklets are held in all 14,000 branches.
	(ii) Over the last five years Post Office Ltd/DVLA has introduced a new electronic system for both vehicle re-licensing and making a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) at MVL Post Office® branches through reading barcodes on application forms/registration certificates.
	Since August 2004, when re-licensing their vehicle or making a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN), customers have been able to notify a change of tax class into the disabled tax class at MVL Post Office® branches.
	In March 2004, DVLA and Post Office Ltd reached commercial agreement to extend the network of offices able to offer the vehicle re-licensing service by over 600 mainly rural Post Office® branches.
	In March 2006 DVLA and Post Office Ltd reached commercial agreement to extend the network of offices able to offer the Photocard Driving Licence Premium Service by over 40 Post Office® branches.
	In the last financial year approximately 38 million vehicle licences were issued by the Post Office and over 2.3 million SORNs were received. Of these, over 160,000 customers changed their vehicle into the disabled tax class.
	In the last financial year over 650,000 customers used the Photocard Driving Licence Premium Service at Post Office® branches.

Railways

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average subsidy per passenger kilometre is for lines in the London region.

Derek Twigg: This information is available in the Office of Rail Regulation publication "National Rail Trends", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Railways

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of rail journeys he estimates were made by people living in the London area in 2005-06.

Derek Twigg: Based on data from the National Travel Survey, it is estimated that 36 per cent. of rail journeys in Great Britain in 2004 were made by residents of greater London.

Railways

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of rail journeys are started or ended in London.

Derek Twigg: The information is published in the National Rail Trends Yearbook editions, which are available in the House Library.

Railways

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress Arriva Trains Wales is making in refurbishing  (a) 142,  (b) 143,  (c) 150 and  (d) 158 class units; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) last refurbished the class 142s and 143s between 2000 and 2002, which included external painting, installation of new seats, floors, body panels and handles being fitted. Currently eight of the fleet are being repainted to complete the refurbishment of this class.
	ATW's class 150s were last refurbished between 2000 and 2002, which included installing new seats, floors and body panels. Since then, 13 of these trains have been added to ATW. ATW are currently refurbishing these. To date, nine have been completed, with the remaining four being completed by the end of August 2006.
	In relation to ATW's class 158s, ATW have said that there are currently no plans to refurbish this rolling stock.

Railways

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2006,  Official Report, column 21W, on railways, what class of rolling stock will be transferred to Arriva Trains Wales on the Swansea to Cardiff route in December 2006; who the manufacturer is; who the previous operating company was; and what the age of the stock is.

Derek Twigg: The vehicles to be operated by Arriva Train Wales on the Swansea to Cardiff route are three car class 175 units, built by Alstom. These vehicles were previously sub-leased by ATW to Trans-Pennine Express. The stock is around six years old.

Railways

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of rail freight passing through London crosses Battersea railway bridge.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not hold information regarding the number of freight train services on specific lines of the rail network.
	Inquiries of this nature should be directed to Network Rail.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to safeguard transport corridors through land controlled by the British Railways Board.

Derek Twigg: Details of the Department for Transport's guidance to BRB (Residuary) Ltd. on the disposal of property can be seen on the company's website at http://www.brb.gov.uk/land_disposal.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the residual value of the property held by the British Railways Board.

Derek Twigg: Details of the value of property held by BRB (Residuary) Ltd. is contained in the annual report of the company which can be seen on the BRB (R) website at http://www.brb.gov.uk/annual_report/annual-report-2005.

Railways

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has made to encourage the use of Sunday rail services in areas where it would be beneficial for the promotion of local tourism and leisure activities; and what special grants are available for additional Sunday rail services in such areas.

Douglas Alexander: The Government do not make any specific grants to encourage the use of Sunday rail services, but are investing heavily in rail and this is yielding results in terms of additional passengers on Sundays and other days of the week. The Government specify the minimum level of services through the franchising process.

Road Accidents (Somerset)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) road accident fatalities and  (b) personal injury road accidents there were in (i) Yeovil constituency and (ii) Somerset in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of  (a) road accident fatalities and  (b) personal injury road accidents there were in (i) Yeovil constituency and (ii) Somerset in each year from 1997 to 2005 is shown in the table. Constituency level data for 2005 are currently unavailable.
	
		
			  Number of (a) road accident fatalities and (b) personal injury road accidents in (i) Yeovil constituency and (ii) Somerset: 1997-2005 
			   Somerset  Yeovil constituency 
			   Fatalities  Accidents  Fatalities  Accidents 
			 1997 41 1,839 7 330 
			 1998 53 1,880 8 356 
			 1999 34 1,819 8 309 
			 2000 44 1,866 7 361 
			 2001 47 1,857 10 353 
			 2002 47 1,884 11 389 
			 2003 41 1,759 9 318 
			 2004 43 1,757 6 323 
			 2005 35 1,888

Road Maintenance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost per mile of maintenance of motorways and trunk roads was in each of the maintenance areas of the Highways Agency in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table shows expenditure on road maintenance (on the strategic road network) per network mile since 2000-01. Figures are based on published annual reports. Information on a regional basis is not available.
	The table also includes information on spending per lane mile from 2001-02, since this provides a more meaningful comparison.
	
		
			   Spending per mile ()  Spending per lane mile () 
			 2000-01 120,100 (1) 
			 2001-02 121,300 31,300 
			 2002-03 148,100 35,700 
			 2003-04 150,700 35,600 
			 2004-05 159,000 36,100 
			 (1) Information on lane miles managed by HA is readily available from 2001-02 only.

Road Pricing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the first road pricing pilot to be operational.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department for Transport expects to receive the first scheme proposals from local authorities for road pricing pathfinder schemes next year, with pricing pathfinders possibly becoming operational in four to five years.
	The Government also recently announced that they would allocate 10 million for demonstration projects to help us understand more about how road pricing schemes would operate in practice. A Prior Information Notice, which alerts companies that may be interested in bidding for the work, will be released shortly. We expect that the demonstration projects will commence in spring 2007, and that they will run for around one to two years.

Road Safety

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of road fatalities in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in 2005; what the average was for London boroughs; and if he will make a statement

Stephen Ladyman: The average number of fatalities in London boroughs in 2005 was 6. Constituency level data for 2005 is currently unavailable.

Road Tolls

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the rate of tolling in pence per  (a) mile and  (b) kilometre in current prices that would be required to reduce congestion on the motorway network.

Stephen Ladyman: The appropriate level of charges for any national road pricing or tolling scheme covering the motorway network would depend on a wide range of factors. It is not currently possible to estimate what price levels would be appropriate.

Safety Cameras

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras have been vandalised in the past 12 months.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 February 2006,  Official Report, column 2054W, to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans).

Seat Belts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 37W, on seat belts, what representations his Department received between 1976 and 1983; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: There would have been many representations in the years mentioned when seat belt wearing in front seats was being made compulsory. Over 20 years later, I have no statement to make.

Thames Gateway

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether there is an overall plan for the development of transport links for London commuters as the Thames Gateway is redeveloped; and who has overall responsibility for developing transport in the Thames Gateway area;
	(2)  what public transport links are to be developed across the Thames Gateway region in order to support the Government's target for jobs to be created by the project.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department of Communities and Local Government are producing a Strategic Framework for the Thames Gateway, in collaboration with other Government Departments, regional and sub-regional partners.
	This will assist Government in determining the strategic transport requirements to support housing and economic growth in the Gateway. It will also continue on from the programme of work already set out in 'Creating Sustainable CommunitiesDelivering the Thames Gateway (March 2005)'. This sets out the Government's aim to regenerate and develop the Gateway and identified the strategic locations and key housing sites with the necessary transport infrastructure that will be required.

Thames Gateway

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the planned transport expenditure for the Thames Gateway redevelopment is to be used to improve  (a) buses,  (b) trains,  (c) car sharing,  (d) underground and  (e) other public transport services.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department for Transport has delivered or is committed to deliver direct investment of 1.6 billion in transport in the Thames Gateway area. That figure includes 700 million on public transport measures and 900 million on both strategic and local roads.

Transport Finance (South-West)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been made available to  (a) Yeovil constituency,  (b) Somerset and  (c) the South West region in local transport plan funding for each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: The information setting out the amounts of funding that have been made available to Somerset county council and to other local authorities in the south west region for local transport plans for each year since 1997 has previously been placed in the Libraries of the House. The information is also available under the February Freedom of Information responses sections on the Department for Transport website (www.dft.gov.uk).
	The Department does not allocate most local transport plan funding to individual constituency areas. It is up to Somerset county council where it allocates the fund support provided for the county according to its local priorities.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Vehicle and Operator Services Agency teams are based at UK ports; how many foreign vehicles were found to be committing infringements in 2005-06; what actions were taken against non-UK vehicles and their drivers; and how many prosecutions have followed stops in 2005-06.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) teams based at British Ports. The majority of enforcement is carried out by intercepting traffic on arterial roads leading to/from a port. By agreement of an individual Port Authority VOSA do visit some ports but this activity is not similar to the statutory presence of Customs and Special Branch officers who are located directly at the port.
	The number of foreign vehicles found to be committing infringements during 2005-06 and the action taken is given in the table:
	
		
			  Roadworthiness prohibitions issued 
			   Number issued 
			 Heavy goods vehicles 5,396 
			 Passenger service vehicles 46 
		
	
	
		
			  Traffic enforcement prohibitions issued 
			   Drivers hours and Tachograph records  Overloading 
			 Heavy goods vehicles 4,403 1,423 
			 Passenger service vehicles 30 13 
		
	
	No foreign drivers or operators were prosecuted by VOSA in 2005-06.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

CPS Targets

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General who in the Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for progress on each of the targets set out on pages 16 to 22 of Cm 6821, the Law Officers' departmental report 2006; to whom each person reports; what discussions he has had with stakeholders about implementation of each target; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Peter Lewis, Director of Business Development has responsibility for the targets of increasing the number of offences brought to justice, and John Graham, Director of Finance has responsibility for the targets on improving public confidence, delivering efficiencies and value for money. Both report to the Chief Executive.
	Regular consultation on the PSA and criminal justice system (CJS) targets is conducted with CJS colleagues and other stakeholders through the work of the National Criminal Justice Board and Local Criminal Justice Boards. The Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chief Executive are all members of the National Criminal Justice Board, and play a full and positive part in its work.

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  which Government Bills sponsored by the Law Officers remain to be introduced during the 2005-06 Session;
	(2)  which Government Bills he has bid for in the next Session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1431W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Commonwealth Institute

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government contributed to the maintenance and running costs of the Commonwealth Institute building in each year between 1996 and 2000.

Kim Howells: Figures for calendar years are not available. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) paid the Commonwealth Institute:
	1 million in the financial year 1996-97;
	1.1 million in 1997-98;
	600,000 in 1998-99;
	600,000 in 1999-2000.
	The severance arrangements agreed between the FCO and the Commonwealth Institute in January 2000 provided for the payment of a further 8 million, about half of which was ring fenced for property maintenance.

East Timor

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 315W, on East Timor, in what way the UK has expressed concern about impunity for those responsible for human rights abuses in Timor-Leste, with particular reference to abuses committed in 1999; at what level and in which forums concerns were raised in each year since 1999; what the outcomes were in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The UK has often expressed concern about impunity for those responsible for the human rights abuses in East Timor and we note the decision of the Government of East Timor to pursue these issues with Indonesia through their bilateral Commission for Truth and Friendship.
	We have expressed these concerns on a number of occasions at various levels and in different fora. However, we are unable to provide the information requested by the hon. Member as this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government will consider the forthcoming referendum in Gibraltar to approve the new constitution to be an act of self-determination by the people of Gibraltar.

Geoff Hoon: As my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr Jack Straw) set out in his written ministerial statement of 27 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 44-46W, the new constitution provides for a modern and mature relationship between the UK and Gibraltar. I do not think that this description would apply to any relationship based on colonialism. The constitution confirms the right of self-determination of the Gibraltarian people. The realisation of that right must be promoted and respected in conformity with the provisions of the UN Charter and any other applicable international treaties. Gibraltar's right of self-determination is not constrained by the Treaty of Utrecht except insofar as Article X gives Spain the right of refusal should Britain ever renounce Sovereignty. Thus independence would only be an option with Spanish consent. Her Majesty's Government recognise that the act of deciding on their acceptance of the new constitution in the forthcoming referendum will be an exercise of the right of self-determination by the Gibraltarian people in that context.
	The new constitution does not in any way diminish British sovereignty and gives Gibraltar much greater control over its internal affairs and that degree of self-government compatible with British sovereignty and the UK's continuing international responsibilities. If the new constitution is agreed the UK will retain its full international responsibility for Gibraltar, including for Gibraltar's external relations and defence, and as the member state responsible for Gibraltar in the EU. The UK's long standing commitment that the UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes will be unchanged. This is also set out clearly in the Despatch which will be published at the same time as the Gibraltar Constitution Order and the draft of which I will place in the Library of the House. I will also send a copy to my hon. Friend.
	It has also been the UK's long standing view that none of its remaining overseas territories, including Gibraltar, should remain on the UN list of non self-governing territories, despite the different circumstances affecting Gibraltar, namely the application of the Treaty of Utrecht as noted earlier. However, the criteria used by the UN are outdated and fail to take account of the way that relationships between the UK and its overseas territories have been modernised. The UK does not, therefore, engage formally to seek the removal of any of the overseas territories from the UN list.

Gurkha Regiment

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the requirements are for ex-servicemen of the Gurkha regiment to be issued with visas to visit the UK.

Kim Howells: Gurkhas serving in the British Army are exempt from immigration control as are other Foreign and Commonwealth personnel serving in HM forces. Upon discharge, when they cease to be exempt, they may apply for settlement and subsequently naturalisation in the UK.
	If ex-servicemen of the Gurkha regiment wish to visit the UK, they need to meet the visit visa requirements of the immigration rules. The requirements to be met by a person seeking entry clearance as a visitor are that he/she: is genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for a limited period as stated by him/her, not exceeding six months; and intends to leave the UK at the end of the period of the visit as stated by him/her; and does not intend to take employment in the UK; and does not intend to produce goods or provide services (including the selling of goods or services direct to members of the public) within the United Kingdom; and does not intend to study at a maintained school (exchange students may be treated exceptionally) and will maintain and accommodate him/herself and any dependants adequately, and can meet the cost of the return or onward journey. Further information on visit visa requirements can be found on the UKvisas website at:
	http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

Indonesia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Indonesian Government on compensation for the families of victims killed in the bombings in Bali in 2002.

Ian McCartney: Our embassy in Jakarta sent a diplomatic note to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 2 June 2003, stating that
	Some of the relatives of those British nationals killed or injured or British nationals directly involved in the Bali bombing on 12 October 2002 intend to submit a claim for compensation under the Indonesian Government Regulation as Substitution of Law 1 of 2002, regarding Elimination of Criminal Acts of Terrorism (GRI).

Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what military equipment has been provided by the UK to Iran to assist in counter-narcotics operations in the last three years.

Margaret Beckett: pursuant to the reply, 21 March 2006, Official Report, c.334-35W
	I regret that an inaccurate answer was given to part of the right hon. Member's question. The answer given states that the then Foreign Secretary, Lord Hurd, and the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, Tony Lloyd, gave statements on 1 March 1993 and 28 September 1998 respectively. The statements were in fact written answers to hon. Members and the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central was made on 28 January 1998.

Iran

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will assess the  (a) likelihood and  (b) likely effectiveness of placing sanctions on Iran in case of a breakdown of negotiations.

Kim Howells: We remain deeply concerned that, despite repeated requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and the United Nations Security Council, Iran is continuing uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activity that will enable it to develop the capability to produce fissile material suitable for use in nuclear weapons, and is not co-operating fully with the IAEA.
	On 1 June, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and her French, German, US, Russian and Chinese colleagues and Javier Solana, EU High Representative, agreed a way forward that would give Iran everything it needs to develop a modern civil nuclear power industry, as well as bringing Iran far reaching political and economic benefits, while meeting international concerns. We hope that Iran will respond to these proposals soon and take the positive path offered. Ministers also agreed on 1 June that if Iran decides not to engage in negotiation, further steps would have to be taken in the Security Council.
	Our efforts remain focused on securing an early, positive response to the proposals. But we cannot rule out measures against Iran, including sanctions, at some point if they become necessary to ensure that Iran complies with its obligations and takes steps to establish the peaceful intentions of its nuclear programme.
	As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 23 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1314:
	We all hope that it will not be necessary to move towards sanctions, but if it is necessary to do so, the sanctions will be those that people feel are capable of having an effect.

Iran

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether the UK supplies military equipment to Iran in support of its counter-narcotics operations; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the extent to which European countries provide military equipment to Iran for use in its counter-narcotics operations; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: pursuant to the replies, 9 March 2006, Official Report, c. 1687-88W
	I regret that inaccurate answers were given to part of the hon. Member's questions. The answers given state that the then Foreign Secretary, Lord Hurd, and the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, Tony Lloyd, gave statements on 1 March 1993 and 28 September 1998 respectively. The statements were in fact written answers to hon. Members and the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central was made on 28 January 1998.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations  (a) she and  (b) her officials have made to the Government of Israel in the last 12 months regarding its detention of Palestinian children taken by Israeli forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and on what occasion such representations were last made at ministerial level;
	(2)  what representations  (a) she and  (b) her officials have made to the Government of Israel in the last 12 months regarding its detention without trial of Palestinians taken by Israeli forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and on what occasion such representations were last made at ministerial level.

Kim Howells: We remain concerned by Israel's policy of administrative detention, particularly that of minors. We last raised Palestinian prisoners with the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 15 June and our ambassador in Tel Aviv last raised this with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's special advisor on 22 March.
	We have not made any representations at ministerial level in the last 12 months.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received from the UN about the numbers of  (a) Palestinians and  (b) Israelis (i) killed and (ii) injured during May and June 2006; how many (A) Palestinians were (1) killed and (2) injured by (x) Israeli fire and (y) internal violence, (B) Israelis were (aa) killed and (bb) injured by Palestinian fire and (C) (xx) Palestinians and (yy) Israelis were (AA) killed and (BB) injured from a disputed source; and if she will describe the disputes involved.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 July 2006
	We rely on a range of organisations including the UN and media reports for our figures.
	The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 27 June that, in May 2006, 30 Palestinians were killed and 100 injured by Israeli fire and Palestinian internal fighting. In June 2006, OCHA state that 57 Palestinians were killed and 196 injured. No Israelis were killed or injured by Israeli fire or Palestinian internal violence in May 2006. Two Israelis were killed and 14 injured in June 2006.
	In May 2006, 20 Palestinians were killed and 28 injured from Israeli fire or a disputed source in Gaza. 43 Palestinians were killed and 114 injured in June 2006. Between 8-31 May, 10 Palestinians were killed and 72 injured from internal violence in Gaza. From 1-25 June, 14 Palestinians were killed and 82 injured.
	In June 2006, OCHA reported that two Israeli defence force soldiers were killed at Kerem Shalom military post. The majority of Israelis injured by Palestinian home-made rockets occurred in Sderot and the neighbouring towns.
	On 9 June, seven Palestinians were killed on Gaza beach from either incoming Israeli fire or unexploded ordinance. The circumstances of this incident have been disputed by the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) reports she has received from the UN and  (b) estimate she has made of the numbers of Israeli air force strikes into the Gaza Strip during May and June.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 July 2006
	We rely on a range of organisations including the UN and media reports for our figures. On 27 June, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that there were 14 Israel air force air strikes in Gaza in May and 33 in June.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) reports she has received from the UN and  (b) estimate she has made of the numbers of Israeli defence force artillery shells fired into the Gaza Strip during May and June 2006.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 July 2006
	We rely on a range of organisations including the UN and media reports for our figures. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on 27 June, that 2,435 Israeli defence force shells were fired into Gaza in May and a total of 642 shells were fired in June.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) reports she has received from the UN and  (b) estimate she has made of the numbers of Palestinian home-made rockets fired from the Gaza Strip during May and June 2006.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 July 2006
	We rely on a range of organisations including the UN and media reports for our figures. On 27 June the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported that 132 Palestinian home-made rockets were fired from Gaza in May and 237 fired in June.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Government of Israel regarding the round of military incursions into Gaza which commenced on 27 June.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 July 2006
	Our ambassador in Tel Aviv discussed the recent Israeli military actions in Gaza with Israeli Defence Minister Peretz on 28 June. The Israeli Defence Minister emphasised that Israel had no intention of re-occupying Gaza, and that the operation would be measured and targeted and that Israel would do all it could to avoid civilian casualties. Our embassy in Tel Aviv and officials in London have continued to engage with Israel on the issue.

North Korea

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what action the British Government  (a) have taken and  (b) plan to take in response to North Korea's development and proposed testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with her counterparts from other countries to discuss North Korea's development and proposed testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Ian McCartney: We are very concerned about reports of a possible test-launch of a Taepodong-2 missile/Satellite Launch Vehicle and are monitoring the situation closely. We have made clear our view to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, as have the EU, US, Japan and others that this would be seen as a provocative act, which would add considerable tension to an already complex regional situation. We have urged them not to test, but to stick to their commitments under the 1999 moratorium and the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration and return to the Six Party Talksa message reiterated in the Foreign Ministers' statement following the G8 meeting in Moscow. The full text of the statement can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/G8FMChairman Statement290606.pdf. We continue to work closely with allies, including US, NATO and EU partners to ensure a co-ordinated international response if the test goes ahead.

Western Sahara

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government's preferred policy is  (a) talks between the Polisario Front and Morocco on autonomy for the Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty and  (b) a referendum on self determination for the people of Western Sahara; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government's policy on the issue of the status of Western Sahara remains unchanged. The UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan and his Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum, to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We continue to urge all parties involved in the dispute to engage constructively with the UN.
	The UK supported UN Security Council Resolution 1675, adopted on 28 April, which extended the mandate of the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara until 31 October 2006. There are, however, no plans for a UN referendum to be held in the near future.

SCOTLAND

Sewel Convention

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to respond to the report of the Scottish Affairs Committee: The Sewel Convention: the Westminster perspective.

David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr. Evennett) at column 636.

Foreign Students

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what factors were taken into account when deciding to offer foreign students with student visas in Scotland the option to work for a period of two years following graduation; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: This is a matter for Scottish Ministers. The fresh talent working in Scotland scheme was launched in June 2005 to help encourage more people to live and work in Scotland.

Fuel Price Increases

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the impact of recent fuel price increases on consumers in Scotland.

Douglas Alexander: The Government and the Scottish Executive continue to monitor the impact of recent energy price increases, and to discuss with suppliers what further action might be taken to assist the most vulnerable groups.

Devolution

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent devolution issues the Advocate General has considered.

David Cairns: Since 3 June, 60 devolution issues have been intimated to the Advocate General. Of these 60 devolution issues, 42 arose in civil proceedings and 18 in criminal proceedings.

Gaelic Speakers

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Gaelic speakers there are in Scotland; and what proportion this represents of the Scottish population.

David Cairns: The 2001 Census showed that there are 58,652 Gaelic speakers in Scotland which represents 1.2 per cent. of the Scottish population.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on information technology (IT) sourced from outside his Department in each of the last five years; who is responsible for such projects in his Department; and what IT  (a) expertise and  (b) qualifications they possess.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office operates an information technology system through the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for the administration, support and maintenance of the system. Accordingly, the Executive is responsible for sourcing and awarding such contracts.
	The expenditure attributable to outsourced information technology was as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure () 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 36,427 
			 2003-04 38,641 
			 2004-05 24,718 
			 2005-06 4,641

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office has only one outsourced IT contract which is for the production and design of the Scotland Office website, on-going maintenance, and hosting of the site; consequently, it is not possible to provide estimated outturn figures. However, the following table below details the expenditure in each year;
	
		
			   Expenditure () 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 36,427 
			 2003-04 38,641 
			 2004-05 24,718 
			 2005-06 4,641

Olympics

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which officials in his Department  (a) are responsible for Olympics-related activity and  (b) sit on the Inter-Departmental Steering Group for the Olympics.

David Cairns: Olympics-related activity for Scotland is the responsibility of Scottish Ministers. However, Scotland Office officials examine Government proposals on the Olympics and how they relate to Scotland. The Scottish Executive provides representation on the Inter-Departmental Steering Group.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Assets Recovery Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total value of property and possessions confiscated by the Assets Recovery Agency was in the last financial year in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: Confiscation is triggered by prosecutors post-conviction. The Assets Recovery Agency is not a prosecuting body, and therefore has not confiscated any assets. However, in 2005-06 using its civil recovery powers the Assets Recovery Agency recovered assets to the value of 0.77 million in Northern Ireland.

Car Parks

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed at each pay and display car park in Northern Ireland to ensure vehicles display the correct payment sticker on the windscreen.

David Cairns: The Acting Chief Executive of Roads Service, Mr. Geoff Allister, has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	 Letter from Mr. Geoff Allister, dated 3 July 2006:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a parliamentary question regarding how many staff are employed at each pay and display car park in Northern Ireland to ensure vehicles display the correct payment sticker on the windscreen. I have been asked to reply as these issues fall within my responsibility as Acting Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	Roads Service is responsible for the management of 82 Pay and Display car parks across Northern Ireland. Forty of these are operated through private contractors and as such no Roads Service staff are involved in patrolling these car parks. Roads Service employs 15 car park attendants to patrol around the remaining 42 car parks and take appropriate action when a vehicle fails to display evidence that the required fee has been paid.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Civil Servants

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff there are in the Northern Ireland civil service.

David Hanson: The number of staff (permanent and temporary) working in the 11 Northern Ireland Departments and the NIO, including agencies, at 1 April 2006 was as follows:
	
		
			   Permanent  Temporary  Total 
			 11 NI Departments 26,724 483 27,207 
			 NIO(1) 1,925 56 1,981 
			 Total 28,649 539 29,188 
			 (1) NIO figures exclude home civil service staff, PSNI, Youth Justice Agency non-admin staff, and uniformed Prison Service staff.

Consultants

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the consultancy contracts entered into by the Central Procurement Directorate on behalf of public bodies in Northern Ireland during  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost to public funds was of each contract; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Details of consultancy contracts entered into by the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) on behalf of public bodies in Northern Ireland, including their purpose and cost, during  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06 will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Expenditure

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what websites come under his Department's responsibility; and what the  (a) cost and  (b) number of visitors to those sites was in the last three years for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: The core Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is responsible for three websites, the NIO website, Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) website, and the Criminal Justice Services Northern Ireland (CJSNI) website. Associated costs, hits and visitors to each website for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 are as follows:
	
		
			Unique visitors( 2)  
			   Costs ()  January to December  Number  Hits 
			  NIO website 
			 2003-04 (1)730.31 2003 229,095 15,987,883 
			 2004-05 51,205.91 2004 198,637 14,882,907 
			 2005-06 9,118.00 2005 171,683 12,945,298 
			  
			  OCTF website 
			 2003-04  2003 15,999 784,483 
			 2004-05 540.50 2004 9,736 328,672 
			 2005-06 14,327.95 2005 21,811 677,331 
			  
			  CJSNI website 
			 2003-04  2003 7,158 260,712 
			 2004-05  2004 9,311 365,205 
			 2005-06 5,306.12 2005 12,620 752,326 
			 (1 )Includes design costs for new websites in the indicated year. (2 )For clarification, unique visitors are defined as those who are counted only once no matter how many times they visit the site in a calendar month.

Departmental Finance Directors

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of his Department.

Peter Hain: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Paul Priestly is the Director of Resources (equivalent of finance director) for the Northern Ireland Office. The director of resources role covers finance, human resources, information technology, procurement, accommodation, transport and travel etc.
	 (b) BA hons. Paul Priestly does not hold a professional accountancy qualification, but the Assistant Director, Financial Services, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI).
	 (c) He was appointed in January 2004. He was previously head of the NIO's Criminal Justice Reform Division and was Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the draft Bills produced by his Department since October 2005; how many were examined or are planned to be examined by  (a) a departmental Select Committee or a combination of Select Committees and  (b) a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: There have been no such draft Bills relating to Northern Ireland.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the unnumbered Command Papers produced by his Department in each session since 1976; how  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: My Department does not keep records of unnumbered Command Papers. The content of such papers are brought to the attention of Members and members of the public through the issue of written ministerial statements. Copies are placed in the Library and can be inspected and obtained from there.

Disabled SmartPasses

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to enable Disabled SmartPasses to be used for identification purposes for voting in elections in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: I should like to apologize for the delay in replying to this question, which was due to an administrative error.
	The Government have no plans to increase the number of specified documents used for electoral identity purposes. The Electoral Identity Card was introduced with the express purpose of allowing all eligible individuals access to appropriately secure photographic identification for voting purposes. The application process for the card is straightforward: the applicant is required to complete a form supplied by the Electoral Office and then return the completed form by post, together with a photograph. The details on the form are then cross-referenced with the relevant individual's registration details before the card is issued.
	I have been assured by the chief electoral officer that there are no accessibility issues that would make it difficult for a disabled person to attain the card.
	In addition to the Electoral Identity Card, three other types of documenta passport, the Senior Citizen SmartPass and a photographic driving licenceare valid forms of voter identification. However, the application process for the Disabled SmartPass is currently less secure than any of the other documents used for electoral identification purposes.

Ex-prisoners

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people who have been released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent or sexual crime in Northern Ireland who are still living there are regarded as at high risk of re-offending.

David Hanson: PBNI are currently supervising 15 offenders in the community following release from custody for a violent crime who have been assessed as posing a high risk of re-offending. There are a further 15 offenders managed in the community under the multi-agency sex offenders risk assessment and management (MASRAM) procedures following release from custody for a sexual crime who have been assessed as posing a high risk of re-offending.

Fuel Prices

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the recent price increase on solid fuel in Northern Ireland on fuel poverty among elderly people.

David Hanson: While the number of elderly households who rely on solid fuel to heat their homes has reduced significantly in recent times, the 6.4 per cent. price increase will have an impact on those who rely on this type of fuel. The Department for Social Development and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive will continue to take action to mitigate the impact on elderly people through the provision of insulation measures and energy efficient central heating systems under the Warm Homes Plus Scheme and by providing financial assistance through the benefits system and the winter fuel payments scheme and by the Housing Executive's heating replacement programme.

Housing

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vulnerable people in Northern Ireland live in homes that fall below the decent homes standard.

David Hanson: The decent homes standard applies to social houses. Government have set a target that all social housing should meet the standard by 2010. While data are not readily available on a household basis, the 2004 Interim House Condition Survey indicated that the overall number of social houses failing to meet the target was 32,000 having reduced from 59,000 in 2001.

Housing

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what steps he  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to ensure that social housing in Northern Ireland is allocated to Catholics and Protestants equally according to need;
	(2)  whether he has plans to address religious differentials in the allocation of public housing.

David Hanson: All allocations by the Housing Executive and registered housing associations are made on the basis of need as determined by the points awarded under the Common Selection Schemea scheme that was equality proofed and subject to detailed and widespread consultation.
	The Housing Executive is recognised by all sections of the community as being extremely fair in its allocations policies. However, applicants for social housing have a choice of where they wish to live and as a result less than 10 per cent. of social housing is integrated, the majority of people preferring to live in areas where they felt comfortable. The choice of where to live therefore impacts significantly on the number of allocations that can be made in specific areas, as this depends on the availability of social housing, whether through new building or re-letting of existing stock. In some areas demand is greater than supply, while in others, the opposite is true and allocations cannot therefore be made at the same ratio for all areas. This does mean that some people will have to consider other areas in order to be re-housed or have to wait longer before they are re-housed. To make allocations on the basis of religious belief would be illegal under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.
	The Northern Ireland Housing Executive formulates plans and programmes for additional new social housing taking account of demography, current and anticipated supply as well as current and projected demand. This effectively targets additional supply on areas with the greatest demand ensuring that assessed need is met.

Housing

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time spent waiting for public housing was by  (a) all those on the waiting list,  (b) those of a Catholic community background and  (c) those of a Protestant community background in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The information is not available in the form requested as complete records prior to June 2002 are not held. However the following tables detail the information that can be provided but are subject to the following caveats:
	These data do not include allocations made by housing associations within Northern Ireland nor transfers between Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties.
	The religious composition of households is based on 'self reported' answers to the question held within the general housing application form. The religion of the applicant is assumed to be the same for all individuals within the household.
	The Northern Ireland Housing Executive's Equality Unit is currently unable to readily identify 'mixed' religion households although we are aware that a number of households currently described as 'Roman Catholic' or 'Protestant' would clearly fall into a 'Mixed' category.
	
		
			  Table 1: Breakdown of mean average months on the waiting list before allocation by religion of applicants, rehoused by NIHE in Northern Ireland (excluding transfers) 
			  Rehoused by NIHE  1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004  1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005  1 April 2005 to 31 December 2005 
			 Catholic 11.3 13.1 12.8 
			 Other 8.7 10.6 9.6 
			 Protestant 9.1 9.8 9.4 
			 Undisclosed/unknown 11.9 11.2 12.6 
			 Total average months 10.0 11.0 10.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Breakdown of mean average months on the waiting list by religion of applicants, on the waiting list for NIHE housing in Northern Ireland (excluding NIHE and housing association transfers) 
			  NIHE applicants  31 March 2003  31 March 2004  31 March 2005  31 December 2005 
			 Catholic 18.4 19.8 20.7 21.8 
			 Other 18.5 19.5 19.4 19.6 
			 Protestant 21.0 22.4 23.0 24.1 
			 Undisclosed/unknown 58.5 48.0 47.7 53.3 
			 Total average months 22.8 23.5 24.0 25.0

Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget for discretionary housing payments was in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: The information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial years  Discretionary housing payments 
			 2001-02 860,000 
			 2002-03 1,142,000 
			 2003-04 1,142,000 
			 2004-05 1,142,000 
			 2005-06 1,142,000 
		
	
	This is in line with the position in Great Britain where the annual allocation for the scheme has remained unchanged for each financial year since 2002-03.

Illegal Fuel

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  whether the law applied in Northern Ireland with regard to testing for illegal fuel in vehicles is the same as that applied elsewhere in the United Kingdom;
	(2)  what the cost is of each operation testing for illegal fuel in cars, vans and lorries which is taking place in Northern Ireland;
	(3)  how many random checks for illegal fuel have taken place on roads in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months, broken down by district council area;
	(4)  how many  (a) police and  (b) customs personnel are required to be present in each road operation to test for illegal fuel in Northern Ireland;
	(5)  how many  (a) Police Service of Northern Ireland and  (b) Customs and Excise officers are required to be present when conducting a fuel testing and dipping exercise in Northern Ireland;
	(6)  how many vehicles were found to be using illegal fuel in each district command unit in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years; and how many prosecutions were brought in each case in each year;
	(7)  what the cost is of carrying out a fuel dipping exercise on a vehicle in Northern Ireland;
	(8)  under what legislation fuel testing and dipping in Northern Ireland takes place; and whether this legislation applies only in Northern Ireland;
	(9)  how many vehicles were randomly tested for illegal fuel use in each district command unit in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The law relating to the testing of illegal fuel applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.
	The number of officers present at a road checking exercise will be dependent upon the risk assessment undertaken for that exercise. There will usually be not less than two PSNI and four HMRC personnel present at a check, the precise numbers depending on the level of risk.
	Each operation involving the testing of fuel in vehicles is unique in the time taken, the numbers tested and the number of personnel involved. It is not possible to estimate a cost for these operations.
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs does not record the number of random checks undertaken for illegal fuel by each council area or district command unit in Northern Ireland. Nor does it have the facility to identify the numbers of vehicles that have been detected using illegal fuel in each district command unit.

Knife Amnesty

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the knife amnesty in Northern Ireland was not extended in line with the amnesty in England and Wales; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Northern Ireland knife amnesty.

David Hanson: Our approach to tackling knife crime has been different to that in other parts of the UK. We have participated in the national knife amnesty, but this has been accompanied by a year-long public information campaign aimed at addressing the culture of knife carrying among young people, which is unique to Northern Ireland. In addition to this, an education package will begin in schools in September and other measures will be introduced, including the raising of the minimum age at which a knife can be legally purchased to 18-years-old. It is our intention to hold a further knife amnesty during 2006, which again is unique to Northern Ireland and this will help us to gauge how effective these initiatives have been.
	During the amnesty almost 900 items were handed in. In addition, the incidence of knife crime during the period of the amnesty fell by 30 per cent. This is clearly a good start and evidence that the amnesty has had an impact. However we intend to continue to address the problem of knife crime and I hope to make further announcements in due course.

Knife Amnesty

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to launch the knife amnesty in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The knife amnesty began in Northern Ireland over three weeks from 24 May to 13 June. Nearly 900 items were handed in over this period, removing potential weapons from the streets. As stated in recent media we do plan to re-run the amnesty later this year. I have noted that the incidence of knife crime dropped by 30 per cent. during the period of the amnesty.
	However the amnesty is just the beginning. The public information campaign aimed at tackling the culture of knife carrying among young people is still ongoing and an educational package will be introduced into schools from September. Legislation giving powers to increase the minimum age for buying a knife will be introduced also in the autumn. We will continue to look at different strategies, policies and initiatives to tackle knife crime in Northern Ireland and introduce any we consider will have an impact on reducing the incidence of this crime.

Knife Amnesty

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many crimes were committed in Northern Ireland during 2005 where a knife was used by the perpetrator.

David Hanson: In 2005-06 there were 1,130 crimes recorded where a knife was involved in the incident. The following table provides a detailed breakdown. These figures are offence-based rather than offender-based (no offender-based figures are available). While it is known that a knife was used in all incidents recorded, it is not possible to indicate how the knife was used.
	
		
			  Crime type  2005-06 
			 Class 1. Offences against the person 430 
			 Murder 8 
			 Attempted murder 27 
			 Threat or conspiracy to murder 72 
			 Wounding with intent/GBH with intent 58 
			 Wounding/GBH 22 
			 AOABH(1) 136 
			 Common assault(2) 76 
			 Aggravated assault 20 
			 Assault on police 8 
			 Intimidation/harassment 2 
			 Other offences against the person 1 
			   
			 Class 2. Sexual offences 13 
			   
			 Class 3. Burglary 19 
			   
			 Class 4. Robbery 359 
			   
			 Class 5. Theft 22 
			   
			 Class 6. Fraud and forgery 0 
			   
			 Class 7. Criminal damage 121 
			   
			 Class 8. Offences against the state 165 
			 Possessing offensive weapon 165 
			   
			 Class 9. Other notifiable offences 1 
			   
			 Total crime 1,130 
			 (1) From April 2003, assaults with minor injuries are recorded as AOABH. (2) Prior to April 2003, offences where the victim received minor injuries were recorded as common assault.  Source: Central Statistics Unit, PSNI.

Lung Cancer

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths from lung cancer there have been in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and how many of these deaths were smoking-related.

David Hanson: The following table gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland for each year between 2001 and 2005, by gender, due to malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus and lung(1).
	Smoking history is rarely recorded on death certificates. Estimates can however be made of the number of deaths attributable to smoking, by using information on the contribution that smoking makes to specific conditions recorded at death. The Health Development Agency(2) (2004) estimated that just over nine in ten male lung cancer deaths, and eight in ten female lung cancer deaths, were attributable to smoking.
	(1) International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes C33-C34.
	(2) Twigg, L., Moon, G., arid Walker, S. The smoking epidemic in England, Health Development Agency, 2004: http://www.publichealth .nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=502811.
	
		
			  Number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland due to malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus and lung (lung cancer), by gender, 2001 to 2005 
			   Deaths due to lung cancer 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			 2001 507 275 782 
			 2002 487 315 802 
			 2003 482 328 810 
			 2004 507 330 837 
			 2005 (provisional data) 505 319 824

Measles

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many measles cases have been diagnosed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: The number of suspected measles cases notified by clinicians is given in the following table, as is the number of these cases that were subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests in each of the last 10 years for which data are available.
	
		
			   Number of notifications  Number of laboratory-confirmed cases 
			 2006(1) 26 0 
			 2005 56 (2)1 
			 2004 90 1 
			 2003 57 0 
			 2002 89 0 
			 2001 96 0 
			 2000 92 2 
			 1999 79 0 
			 1998 112 1 
			 1997 120 1 
			 (1) Data for 2006 are up until week 24 and are provisional. (2) Test in this case unable to distinguish between antibody response to recent vaccination and a true case of measles  Source: Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Northern Ireland (CDSC (NI)).

Nurses and Midwives

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) nurses and  (b) midwives are employed by the Health Service in each health board area in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is presented in the following table.
	
		
			  Nursing and midwifery staff employed within the NIHPSS by health board area as at 31 March 2006 
			   Qualified nursing staff  Nursing support staff 
			   Headcount  WTE  Headcount  WTE 
			 Eastern board 7,526 6,462.67 2,397 2,002.58 
			 Northern board 2,596 2,194.43 779 662.92 
			 Southern board 2,233 1,868.78 729 624.34 
			 Western board 2,350 2,129.41 726 665.30 
			 Total 14,705 12,655.29 4,631 3,955.14 
		
	
	
		
			   Qualified midwives  Total 
			   Headcount  WTE  Headcount  WTE 
			 Eastern board 552 4,21.40 10,475 8,886.65 
			 Northern board 266 218.85 3,641 3,076.20 
			 Southern board 244 184.63 3,206 2,677.75 
			 Western board 223 187.28 3,299 2,981.99 
			 Total 1,285 1,012.16 20,621 17,622.59 
			  Notes: 1.WTE = Whole-time equivalent. 2. The qualified nursing staff category includes 43 student midwives. Figures include all staff working within the NIHPSS including those working in health boards and agencies such as Central Services Agency, Regional Medical Physics Agency and Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority. 3. Figures exclude bank staff. 4. Nursing figures for Central Services Agency, Regional Medical Physics Agency and Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority are included within the eastern board.  Source: Human Resource Management System

Paedophiles

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many registered paedophiles are at large in Northern Ireland; what measures are taken by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other agencies to ensure the safety of the public; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There are currently 646 sex offenders in Northern Ireland subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Police collate statistics in accordance with the Home Office counting rules which relate to crime type and not to age of victim. The police estimate that some 60 per cent. of sex offenders have committed sexual offences against children. All offenders are subject to individual risk assessment and management under the multi-agency sex offender and risk management (MASRAM) procedures. At an operational level the police and other agencies are fully aware of the nature of each individual offender's offending behaviour including whether this involved offences against children.

Paedophiles

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of repeat offending by known paedophiles have occurred in Northern Ireland in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: I attach high priority to the protection of the public and particularly children from any risks posed by sex offenders. Statistics from the 2001 adult reconviction dataset indicate that no sex offender was subsequently reconvicted for a sexual offence within two years after their date of discharge in 2001. Reconviction data are not yet available in respect of those convicted after 2001.

People Trafficking

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been  (a) arrested for,  (b) charged with and  (c) convicted of people trafficking offences in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The Police Service of Northern Ireland advises that one person was arrested for people trafficking in October 2005. He was charged on the 17 October 2005 and on the 23 March 2006 this charge was withdrawn on direction of the Public Prosecution Service.
	Legislation introduced in 2004 (The Sexual Offence Act 2003 and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004) include offences related to human trafficking; however, due to the current unavailability of conviction statistics beyond 2003, it is not yet possible to determine the number of persons convicted of such offences under these more recent Acts.

Renewable Energy

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets have been set to increase the amount of energy from renewable sources used by Northern Ireland Departments.

David Hanson: Northern Ireland Departments are expected to purchase at least 10 per cent. of their electricity supplies from renewable (non-fossil fuel) sources by 31 March 2008, in accordance with Government targets set under the Climate Change Programme (Cm 4913) and the Government's Plan for Action (Cm 6169).
	Under the recently launched Sustainable Development Strategy, the Government estate is to be carbon neutral by 2015, and increased use of renewable energy sources will contribute to achieving that target.

Renewable Energy

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Northern Ireland departments use renewable energy for some of their energy requirements.

David Hanson: All Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office use renewable energy for some of their energy requirements.

Roads

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which sections of the Eastern Transport Corridor consist of single lane carriageway; and what plans there are to upgrade them.

David Cairns: The acting Chief Executive of Roads Service (Mr. Geoff Allister) has written to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	 Letter from Mr. Geoff Allister, dated 3 July 2006:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding which sections of the Eastern Transport Corridor consist of single lane carriageway; and what plans there are to upgrade them.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Acting Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	The Eastern Seaboard Corridor runs from Larne and crosses the border south of Newry. The route is essentially comprised of the A8 Larne to Belfast road, the M2 Motorway, the A12 Westlink, the Ml Motorway, and the Al route to the Border.
	On the A8 Larne to Belfast road there is 14 kilometres of single carriageway between Coleman's Corner, near Ballyclare and Kilwaughter.
	As you may be aware, Roads Service has recently completed a package of measures on the A8 route costing 13.3m. Consultants identified these improvements as justifiable in terms of cost and effectiveness, resulting from a wide-ranging study that covered all realistic options for the route.
	Included in the package were a number of schemes aimed at improving passing opportunities along the remaining stretch of single carriageway. Following the completion of these works, no further major improvements to the A8 are planned at the moment.
	As regards the Al route, there is currently 21 Km of the route between Loughbrickland and the Border which is still single carriageway.
	Roads Service is progressing 3 projects for the improvement of these remaining sections to dual carriageway standard. They are:
	the Loughbrickland to Beech Hill scheme which is currently under construction and completion is anticipated in the Autumn 2006;
	the Beech Hill to Cloghogue scheme, the contract for which is expected to be awarded in Spring 2007. This scheme is progressing through the necessary statutory processes and was the subject of a public inquiry into the Vesting of the land during June 2006. It forms part of our PPP Package 2 with completion expected in late 2009 (subject to satisfactory completion of statutory processes); and
	the Cloghogue to the Border section, which forms part of a larger joint cross-border scheme to link Newry to the Republic of Ireland's Ml north of Dundalk. It is currently under construction with completion anticipated before the end of 2007.

Roads

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which junctions of the Eastern Transport Corridor between Larne and Newry do not have a right-hand turning lane; and what plans he has to upgrade these junctions.

David Cairns: The Acting Chief Executive of Roads Service, Mr. Geoff Allister, has written to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	 Letter from Mr. Geoff Allister, dated 3 July 2006:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding which junctions of the Eastern Transport Corridor between Larne and Newry do not have a right hand turning lane; and what plans he has to upgrade these junctions.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Acting Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	The Eastern Seaboard Corridor is essentially comprised of the A8 Larne to Belfast road, the M2 Motorway, the A12 Westlink, the Ml Motorway and the Al to the Border, south of Newry. I can advise that on the A8 Larne to Belfast road the junctions which do not have a right hand turning lane are those at Ballygowan Road/Deerpark Road and Ballygowan Road South. However, a right turn facility at the Ballygowan/Deerpark Road junction will be constructed later this financial year, and a similar facility will be constructed at the Ballygowan Road South junction during the 2007/2008 financial year. The only other section of the A8 with no dedicated facilities for right turning movements is the section of single carriageway between Coleman's Corner and Ballynure.
	You will possibly be aware that the Belfast Metropolitan Transportation Plan supports dualling this section, including the completion of the Ballynure Bypass. Subsequently, the Department has sought, through the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan, to protect the land required for this scheme. It is currently expected that the implementation of this scheme will be outside the 2015 Plan period. On completion of the dual carriageway, the priority junctions will be reduced to left-in left-out, without the need to perform right turns, other than at the main roundabouts.
	On the Al Belfast to Newry road, there are currently two junctions which do not have a right turn facility. These are Ashgrove Road, which is just north of the Damolly Roundabout on the approach to Newry and to the west side of the Al, and Cloughanramer Road which is just north of the Damolly Roundabout and to the east of the A1. However, this section of the Al will be superseded by the planned Beech Hill to Cloghogue dual carriageway upgrade, which is included in Package 2 of Roads Service's Public Private Partnership Project.
	Right turn movements at all other junctions along the Eastern Seaboard Corridor are accommodated within the approach lanes to roundabouts, central reserve deceleration lanes, or grade separated junctions with slip roads.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Roads

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles per day on average use the A8 Eastern Transport Corridor between Larne and Belfast.

David Cairns: The acting chief executive of Roads Service (Mr. Geoff Allister) has written to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	 Letter from Mr. Geoff Allister, dated 3 July 2006:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding how many vehicles per day on average use the A8 Eastern Transport Corridor between Larne and Belfast.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Acting Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	By way of background, I should explain that Roads Service collects traffic volume data by means of 270 automatic census points strategically located throughout the Northern Ireland road network. The information is recorded for one week in each quarter during the year and an annual average calculated. The results are published in Roads Service's annual Traffic and Travel Information Report, which presents the traffic volumes in a variety of formats for each site.
	Roads Service has automatic traffic-counting equipment at five different locations along the A8 between Larne and Sandyknowes roundabout in Glengormley. The latest data (2005) on the annual average daily number of vehicles using the A8 are shown in the table below.
	
		
			  Location  Annual average daily flow (two-way) 
			 A8 Sandyknowes to Corr's Corner 15,009 
			 A8 on dual carriageway north of Corr's Corner 17,714 
			 A8 north of Bruslee recycling amenity site 11,048 
			 A8 north of Ballynure 13,325 
			 A8 at Drumnahoe near Larne 17,566 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful.

Special Advisers

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what role is played by special advisers in answering parliamentary questions asked of his Department.

Peter Hain: Special advisers conduct themselves in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

Sports Teams (Passports)

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are in place to ensure that UK citizens living in Northern Ireland who represent their sport at an all-Ireland level have the right to carry their British passports while travelling abroad with their teams.

Maria Eagle: Neither the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) nor the Sports Council for Northern Ireland (SCNI) are aware of any arrangements among sports organised on an all-Ireland basis that prevent UK citizens living in Northern Ireland from carrying their British passports while travelling abroad with their teams.

Summer Schemes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many special needs children took part in summer schemes in each board area in each of the last four years; how long the summer schemes last in each board area; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The number of children with special educational needs attending summer schemes in special schools and the duration of these schemes, in each of the last four years, is set out in the following tables.
	The education and library boards do not have a statutory duty to provide summer schemes for children with special educational needs. They do so, however, subject to available resources and in partnership with local health and social services trusts and district councils.
	
		
			  Belfast education and library board 
			   Number of children  Duration of summer scheme 
			 2002 128 14-21 days July/August 
			 2003 172 14-21 days July/August 
			 2004 161 14-21 days July /August 
			 2005 270 14-21 days July/August 
		
	
	
		
			  North eastern education and library board 
			   Number of children  Duration of summer scheme 
			 2002 307 2 x 7 day schemes 
			 2003 300 2 x 7 day schemes 
			 2004 301 2 x 7 day schemes 
			 2005 315 2 x 5 day schemes 
		
	
	
		
			  South eastern education and library board 
			   Number of children  Duration of summer scheme 
			 2002 310 14 days 
			 2003 320 13 days 
			 2004 340 13 days 
			 2005 325 10 days 
		
	
	
		
			  Southern education and library board 
			   Number of children  Duration of summer scheme 
			 2002 241 14 days 
			 2003 243 14 days 
			 2004 252 14 days 
			 2005 243 14 days 
		
	
	
		
			  Western education and library board 
			   Number of children  Duration of summer scheme 
			 2002 163 14 days 
			 2003 168 14 days 
			 2004 172 14 days 
			 2005 164 14 days 
		
	
	Earmarked funding has been provided by the Department of Education, for education and library boards to use in the organisation of summer schemes in literacy and numeracy. In addition the Department is also aware that some schools finance summer schemes using other resources. Information on the number of children with special educational needs attending these schemes could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Vehicle Registration

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted as a result of the introduction of legislation on Statutory Off Road Notices for vehicles.

David Cairns: Statutory Off the Road Notification (SORN) was introduced in Northern Ireland in December 2002. However, the offence of failing to make a SORN declaration was superseded in December 2003 by the introduction of continuous registration which created the new offence of being the keeper of a vehicle which is neither licensed nor the subject of a SORN declaration. Between December 2002 and December 2003, 1,750 people were prosecuted for failing to make a SORN declaration.

Young Carers

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what  (a) support services and  (b) financial assistance is in place to support young carers in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: Young carers have a legal entitlement to an assessment of their care needs which is aimed both at supporting them in their caring role, and at helping to ensure that their education and development do not suffer. Schools have been alerted to the difficulties faced by young carers and to recognise this in their pastoral care policies in the publication Evaluating Pastoral Care issued by the Education and Training Inspectorate in 1999. In pursuit of the recommendations of the strategy Caring for Carers, published by the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety earlier this year, officials will, in conjunction with the Department of Education, be distributing a DVD later this year on the needs of young carers as a training aide to staff within the Health and Social Services and the Education sector.
	Carers over 16 years of age may be entitled to social security benefits such as carer's allowance and/or income support if they satisfy the appropriate qualifying conditions.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Commons Staff's Salaries

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, which posts held by officials of the House of Commons receive an annual salary of more than the basic salary payable to hon. Members.

Nick Harvey: The basic salary payable to Members is 59,686 per annum. Currently 82 staff are paid an annual salary which exceeds this figure. A list of posts in the Senior Commons Structure and at pay band Al, which have pay maxima higher than Members' current salary, will be placed in the Library. Details of staff pay bands and staff pay arrangements are available on the parliamentary intranet. The salaries of Members of the Board of Management are disclosed in the House of Commons: Administration annual accounts.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local Government

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the local government White Paper is expected to be published.

Ruth Kelly: The local government White Paper will be published shortly after the summer recess.

Local Government

Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her priorities are in relation to funding for local government.

Phil Woolas: This Government's priorities for local government finance are to provide councils with stable and predictable funding, and to protect the public from excessive council tax increases.

Local Government

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice her Department has given to local authorities on fees charged under the high hedges legislation; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Our advice on fees under the high hedges legislation is in paragraphs 5.13 to 5.16 of the guidance document 'High Hedges Complaints: Prevention and Cure'. It indicates that each local authority is responsible for deciding whether, and at what level, to charge for dealing with complaints about high hedges.

Housing

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the recommendation by the Select Committee on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions that 200,000 new homes should be built by 2010.

Yvette Cooper: We welcome the ODPM Select Committee's recognition, in its report on Housing Supply and Affordability, of the pressing need for more housing to meet the needs of current and future generations.
	We have simply not been building enough homes to meet rising demand and changing social trends. Households are projected to grow by 209,000 per year up to 2026, driven by people living longer, more divorce and separation and more people living alone. By contrast, last year only around 168,000 additional homes were provided. We need to ensure that housing supply is increased, both for purchase and for rent, to provide homes for future generations.
	In our response to the Barker Review, published in December, we set out our ambition to increase the supply of new housing to 200,000 per year by 2016. The package aims to make it easier to buy outright or buy a part share in a home, as well as improving access to high quality, rented social housing. If housing supply is not increased, affordability will continue to worsen. For example, the proportion of 30-year-old couples who could afford to buy a home will fall from just over 50 per cent. now, to around a third by 2016. Government will respond formally to the recommendations contained in the report in due course.

Housing

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the recommendation by the Select Committee on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions that 200,000 homes should be built by 2010.

Yvette Cooper: We welcome the ODPM Select Committee's recognition, in its report on Housing Supply and Affordability, of the pressing need for more housing to meet the needs of current and future generations.
	We have simply not been building enough homes to meet rising demand and changing social trends. Households are projected to grow by 209,000 per year up to 2026, driven by people living longer, more divorce and separation and more people living alone. By contrast, last year only around 168,000 additional homes were provided. We need to ensure that housing supply is increased, both for purchase and for rent, to provide homes for future generations.
	In our response to the Barker Review, published in December, we set out our ambition to increase the supply of new housing to 200,000 per year by 2016. The package aims to make it easier to buy outright or buy a part share in a home, as well as improving access to high quality, rented social housing. If housing supply is not increased, affordability will continue to worsen. For example, the proportion of 30-year-old couples who could afford to buy a home will fall from just over 50 per cent. now, to around a third by 2016. Government will respond formally to the recommendations contained in the report in due course.

Homelessness

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the performance of Birmingham city council in tackling homelessness.

Meg Munn: Birmingham city council's statistical returns show that there has been a 17 per cent. reduction in homeless acceptances and a 30 per cent. reduction in the use of temporary accommodation over the year to end March 2006. Birmingham has also maintained the two-thirds reduction in rough sleeping. The last count (2005) showed seven against a baseline figure of 56 in 1998.

Homelessness

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the 88 million announced by her Department on 12 December 2005 included funding for the Homelessness Innovation Fund.

Yvette Cooper: On 12 December 2005 I announced the allocation of a further 88 million over two years (2006-07 and 2007-08) as part of our continued investment in homelessness prevention schemes. This funding is additional to the 2.2 million I announced on 2 November 2005 for the Homelessness Innovation Fund (HIF). 19 projects across England were awarded HIF funding to develop new ways of preventing homelessness and reducing the number of households living in temporary accommodation. The projects are expected to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation by 4,000, and prevent 2,400 new cases of homelessness.

Home Information Packs

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the value of a home information pack to a buyer attempting to get a mortgage.

Yvette Cooper: First-time buyers will receive home information packs for free, because they transfer costs from buyers to sellers.
	In addition, we would expect most people to see cuts in the cost of valuations as a result of the Home Condition report, as well as swifter mortgage offers where people do not have to wait for a survey. These issues will be examined further as part of the dry run.

Council Tax

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the council tax collection rates were for 2005-06.

Phil Woolas: A statistical release providing council tax collection rates for 2005-06 was issued on 21 June. This is available from the Department for Communities and Local Government website at http://www.local.odpm .gov.uk/finance/ctax/cp056.htm.

Departmental Websites

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many websites there are within her responsibilities; and what the total cost of maintaining such websites was in the last year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The websites operated by the Department for Communities and Local Government are as listed:
	www.communities.gov.uk
	www.neighbourhood.gov.uk
	www.firekills.gov.uk (fire safety campaigns)
	www.bvpi.gov.uk (best value performance indicators)
	www.frsonline.fire.gov.uk
	www.spkweb.org.uk (supporting people programme)
	http://www.gos.gov.uk/national/ (Government office for the regions)
	www.localegov.gov.uk
	www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk
	www.info4local.gov.uk
	www.togetherwecan.info
	www.xoq83.dial.pipex.com (local government pension scheme)
	www.renewal.net
	www.cleanersafergreener.gov.uk
	www.iggi.gov.uk (intra governmental geographic information)
	www.planningportal.gov.uk
	www.futureleadership.gov.uk
	www.spdirectory.org.uk (supporting people directory of services)
	www.nlud.org.uk (national land use directory)
	www.firesafetytoolbox.org.uk
	www.firelink.org.uk
	www.localvisionforum.net
	www.bmespark.org.uk (black minority ethnic supporting people)
	www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk
	The annual cost of maintaining the listed websites is 2,396,972. 90 per cent. of this cost comes from DCLG's six major websites, primarily the award-winning Planning Portal, which provides online planning applications services integrated into local authorities:
	
		
			  Website  Annual cost () 
			 www.planningportal.gov.uk 1,200,000 
			 www.spdirectory.org.uk/ 328,000 
			 www.communities.gov.uk 150,408 
			 http://www.gos.gov.uk/national 194,834 
			 www.info41ocal.gov.uk 145,866 
			 www.renewal.net 136,800

Overhead Power Lines

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the building of new properties in close proximity to electric pylons.

Meg Munn: The Government have not issued guidance concerning the building of new properties near pylons.
	However, following the publication of the (then) National Radiological Protection Board's new Electromagnetic Field guidelines in March 2004, and the associated advice to Government, the Government are giving further consideration to taking the issue of building near power lines and pylons and is consulting with all the relevant stakeholder groups.

Overhead Power Lines

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Government have made of the impact of revised health guidance on overhead power lines on  (a) the planning process,  (b) house prices,  (c) compulsory purchase orders and  (d) power line burial in new housing developments; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government are considering the implications of Health Protection Agency advice regarding power lines with all stakeholders. Implications for the areas outlined in the question will be fully considered in deciding how to implement the advice.
	When appropriate policy options have been formulated the Government will undertake a consultation on the options in the normal manner.

Population Estimates

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authority areas have made representations to her about the accuracy of  (a) the internal migration statistics and  (b) the mid-year population estimates.

Phil Woolas: The information is as follows.
	 (a) Since 5 December 2005, in the context of the local government finance settlement, we have received representations about the accuracy of the internal migration statistics used in the mid-year population estimates from Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Hounslow, Lambeth, Newham and Slough.
	 (b) Since 5 December 2005, in the context of the local government finance settlement, we have received representations about the accuracy of the mid-year population estimates from Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Enfield, Hounslow, Lambeth, Leeds, Lewisham, Newham, North Tyneside, Slough, Southwark, Telford and the Wrekin.

South East England Development Agency

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the expenditure of the South East England Development Agency has been in each year since its inception in  (a) each county and  (b) each district in the south east, (i) in total, (ii) per capita and (iii) as a percentage of its budget.

Angela Smith: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

PRIME MINISTER

Nuclear Deterrent

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what  (a) approval for and  (b) instructions relating to additional expenditure on replacing the UK's existing nuclear deterrent he has given to (i) the Ministry of Defence and (ii) HM Treasury since April 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) at Prime Minister's Questions on 28 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 253-4.

Nuclear Deterrent

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister whether he gave prior approval for the reference to replacing the UK's nuclear deterrent in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Mansion House speech; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Nuclear Deterrent

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions  (a) he and  (b) staff at 10 Downing Street have had with (i) President Bush and (ii) White House staff since April 2005 about sustaining the UK's nuclear deterrent; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with carers' organisations about carers' needs.

Anne McGuire: I last met representatives of Carers UK on 15 February and discussed a range of issues in connection with the needs of carers.
	During the recent Carers Week I visited the Charlie Ratchford Centre in Camden to celebrate the launch of initiatives to help local carers and to discuss with them issues related to their needs.

Carers

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many more people would be eligible for carer's allowance if the gainfully employed rate was  (a) raised to 168 per week and  (b) abolished; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The requested information is not available because there are no reliable data from which robust estimates might be obtained.

Carers

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have lost their carer's allowance as a result of reaching pensionable age in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 26 June 2006
	The information requested is not available. The information that is available is in the table. Carer's allowance is payable to carers of state pension age who meet the conditions of entitlement to the allowance and do not receive a state pension, or where the weekly rate of state pension paid is lower than the weekly rate of carer's allowance. In those cases a reduced rate of carer's allowance is paid to bring the total amount of state pension and carer's allowance paid up to the carer's allowance weekly rate.
	Carer's allowance and state pension cannot be paid at the same time because both of them are non-income-related benefits designed to provide a degree of replacement for lost or forgone income.
	In cases where these arrangements preclude the payment of carer's allowance, the carer's entitlement to the allowance gives them access to the carer premium, currently 26.35 a week, in the income-related benefits such as income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit and to the equivalent additional amount for carers in pension credit.
	
		
			  Carer's allowance: number of women aged 60 and men aged 65 awarded a state pension from December 2001 to November 2005 who in the quarterly statistical period in which the award was made were recorded as entitled to, but not receiving payments of, the allowance 
			  Quarterly statistical periods spanning (December to November)  Number( 1) 
			 2001-02 (2)8,100 
			 2002-03 10,740 
			 2003-04 10,420 
			 2004-05 10,140 
			 (1) Sum of figures for four quarterly statistical periods, rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Figure is for the period March 2002 to November 2002. Data are not available for the period December 2001 to February 2002.  Source: Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension.

Anne McGuire: Members of the principal civil service pension scheme (PCSPS) can pay additional contributions to top up their pension either through the civil service additional voluntary contributions scheme (CSAVCS), a money purchase arrangement, or by buying added years of service in the PCSPS. As an alternative to membership of the PCSPS recruits from 1 October 2002 have been able to join a stakeholder arrangement, the partnership pension account.
	The number and percentage of staff in the Department who are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension as at 31 May 2006 are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Number  Percentage 
			 CSAVCS 919 0.71 
			 Added years 1,156 0.89 
			 Partnership 281 0.22

Disability and Carers Service

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1477-79W, on sickness/unauthorised absence, what information his Department has on levels of sickness absence at the Disability and Carers Service; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Disability and Carers' Service became an Executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions on 1 November 2004. The information has been drawn from the Agency's own records, and the only full year's data are for 2005. The figures represent average working days lost per staff year.
	 Average working days lost
	2005: 9.9
	The rolling year to date data which are captured on a month by month basis within the Agency continue to show a modest but steady trend of improvement; the April 2006 year to date figure was 9.5 AWDL.

Disability Living Allowance Statistics

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in Surrey include a person with a learning disability who receives the care component of disability living allowance at the  (a) highest,  (b) middle and  (c) lowest rate.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in Surrey include a person with a learning disability who receives the care component of disability living allowance at the (a) highest (b) middle and (c) lowest rate.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information available is in the following table:
	
		
			  Recipients of disability living allowance with learning difficulties by rate of care award as at November 2005 in Surrey parliamentary constituencies 
			   Care component 
			   Total with care component  Higher rate  Middle rate  Lowest rate 
			 East Surrey 510 190 80 240 
			 South West Surrey 290 90 50 150 
			 Surrey Heath 280 80 40 170 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Figures are based on the care component condition only. 5. Information is only available for the Surrey parliamentary constituencies.  Source:  DWP, WPLS 100 percent data. 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Health and Safety Executive

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Freedom of Information requests were received by the Health and Safety Executive in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006; how many of these were rejected; and how many of those rejected were subsequently upheld by the Commissioner.

Anne McGuire: Information on Freedom of Information requests made to the Health and Safety Executive is as follows:
	
		
			   2005  2006( 1) 
			 Number of requests received 6,975 2,928 
			 Withheld in full 761 501 
			 Partially withheld 401 191 
			 (1) To date. 
		
	
	To date HSE has not received any decisions from the Information Commissioner's Office regarding referred cases.

Incapacity Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants moved from the short-term lower rate on to the short-term higher rate without first undertaking the personal capability assessment in each year since the introduction of the assessment.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 12 May 2006
	Information about the timing of the personal capability assessment (PCA) in relation to the point at which the higher rates of incapacity benefit become payable is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Incapacity Benefit

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants there have been in Bristol East in each year since 2000.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the Bristol East parliamentary constituency, as at November each year 
			   Number 
			 2005 5,570 
			 2004 5,500 
			 2003 5,330 
			 2002 5,250 
			 2001 5,050 
			 2000 4,980 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. 'Claimants' figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, including incapacity benefit credits only cases.  Source: DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Ministerial Visits (Overnight Stays)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1154W, on overnight stays, how the cost of overnight stays by Ministers of State in his Department is monitored; and if he will begin to keep a separate record of such stays.

Anne McGuire: The Department does not keep a separate record of overnight accommodation costs for Ministers. Overnight stays are carried out in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers. There are no plans to start keeping a separate record of the cost of overnight stays.

Motability Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged 13 to 19 years were refused help from the Motability scheme in 2005.

Anne McGuire: The number of people aged 13 to 19 that were unable to receive assistance from Motability in 2005 are in the following table:
	
		
			  2005  Number 
			 Applications for grants received by Motability from people aged 13 to 19(1) 854 
			 Number unable to receive assistance 86 
			 (1) Applications for help towards driving lessons, an advance payment or adaptations to a vehicle.  Source: Motability Grants Department Statistics.

Public Consultations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2005,  Official Report, column 1292W, on departmental expenditure, what mechanisms are in place to ensure value for money in public consultations.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions follows the Code of Practice on consultation as a key element of its policy development. Criterion 3 of the code requires Departments to ensure that their consultations are
	'...clear, concise, and widely accessible.'
	The Department for Work and Pensions seeks to strike a balance between the accessibility and value for money of its public consultations. In accordance with the code, the Department's consultation co-ordinator advises colleagues on best practice and is integral to consultation planning and delivery. The Department works closely with its key stakeholders, intermediaries, and charitable organisations to broaden the coverage of its consultations. As well as obtaining the views of the wider public, stakeholders have hosted public consultative events on key policy issues which Ministers and officials have attended.
	In accordance with Government best practice, consultation documents are made available on-line to ensure the widest possible best-value coverage.
	By following the code, and making effective use of consultative channels, DWP has been able to take on board the views both of those likely to be affected and of relevant experts. Consequently Government are considerably more likely to meet their policy objectives, thus rendering consultation invaluable.

Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the review team looking at the future of Remploy Ltd. to present its final report; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library once it has been presented to him.

Anne McGuire: I have not yet received PricewaterhouseCoopers' report on Remploy, but expect to do so shortly. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library in due course.

Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the recommendations on the future of Remploy Ltd. made in the final report of the current review of Remploy's future business options, if he will consult interested parties prior to decisions being made on the future of Remploy Ltd. and any of its factories.

Anne McGuire: In conducting the review, PricewaterhouseCoopers have consulted a range of stakeholders, including employees, trade unions, customers, Remploy managers and DWP's Disability Employment Advisory Committee. As the review team has not yet reported I have not formed any conclusions or developed proposals for the future strategic direction of Remploy. At this stage I cannot therefore determine whether further consultation is appropriate.

Staff Training

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements are in place for monitoring the  (a) quality and  (b) outcomes of staff training in his Department and its agencies.

Anne McGuire: We have arrangements in place that cover all areas of the Department and its agencies that capture all staff training activity, the effectiveness of the individual training events and the impact on business performance. These arrangements are consistent with the Investors in People standards and are externally validated to help us focus on developing our staff in the most effective way.

Work and Pensions Committee Recommendations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what actions have been taken by his Department to implement Work and Pensions Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 session; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold a central record of actions taken to implement recommendations made by the Work and Pensions Select Committee and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the Government are required to respond formally to reports published by the Committee and those responses set out whether or not the Government accept the recommendations presented by the Committee and the actions it proposes to take.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Compensation

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which a compensation culture exists.

Bridget Prentice: The Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF) report: Better Routes to Redress published in May 2004 found that the compensation culture is a myth, because the number of claims and litigation is not in fact rising. But that it is a damaging myth that needs to be tackled, because the widespread belief that claims are rising, leads to a disproportionate fear of litigation and risk averse behaviour.
	The Government are therefore taking forward a wide- ranging programme of work, with the core objectives of preventing a compensation culture from developing; tackling perceptions that can lead to a disproportionate fear of litigation and risk averse behaviour; finding ways to discourage and resist bad claims; and improving the system for those with a valid claim for compensation.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people were employed by  (a) HM Land Registry,  (b) National Archives,  (c) HM Courts Service and  (d) the Public Guardianship Office in each region in each of the last 12 months for which data are available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

Vera Baird: The figures requested are published in civil service statistics. Departments should refer to Table A which covers staff numbers (FTE and headcount basis) for each organisation. Civil service statistics are available in the Library and at the following address on the Cabinet Office statistics website: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/index.asp.
	The number of posts which were vacant in Departments is not collected centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Deposited Papers

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the deposited papers placed in the Library by her Department since 2000; and when each was published.

Vera Baird: Currently my Department does not record this information. However, a system will be set up to shortly to record all papers that will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Draft Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what draft Bills have been produced by her Department since October 2005; how many were  (a) examined and  (b) are planned to be examined by (i) a departmental Select Committee and (ii) a Joint Committee; what draft Bills are still to be produced by her Department; when each is expected to be published; how many clauses each has; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: My Department has published two draft Bills since October 2005, the Legal Services Bill and the Coroners Bill.
	The draft Legal Services Bill is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny before the Joint Committee on the Draft Legal Services Bill, which aims to report by 25 July. The Coroners Bill is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny before the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.
	A further draft bill may be published this session, the Courts and Tribunals Bill. As yet no Select Committee has expressed an interest in conducting pre-legislative scrutiny nor are there any plans to put together a Joint Committee.
	Announcements on future legislation and future draft legislation will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny, which will be indicated in the Queen's Speech.

Draft Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her practice is regarding meeting, discussing and taking into account the views and opinions of  (a) private individuals and  (b) representatives of organisations, when drawing up and framing legislation to be introduced by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The Department always seeks a full range of views when drawing up and framing legislation. In this regard, consultation is an essential part of the policy-making process, both informal and formal.
	The Department's formal consultations, which abide by the code of conduct on consultation, are all available on the Department's website and they are also generally available in hard copy. The DCA website has a what's new section on its home page which lists new additions to the website, including new consultations, making them easier to find. Those who access the site can also make use of the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed to be alerted when new content, including consultations, has been added to the Department's website.
	Following consultation exercises, response papers are normally produced in accordance with the code on consultation to give feedback on the responses received and on how the consultation process influenced the further development of the policy.

Enduring Powers of Attorney

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what information her Department makes available on the signing of Enduring Powers of Attorney; and why the scheme is ending in April.

Harriet Harman: The Public Guardianship Office (PGO) has information on its website regarding Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) and publishes a guide on how to make an Enduring Power of Attorney.
	This document can be found on the PGO website at: http://www.guardianship.gov.uk/downloads/EPA.web.pdf This can be downloaded in large font, and easy to read formats.
	The Enduring Powers of Attorney Act will be repealed on enactment of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, planned for April 2007. Enduring Powers of Attorney will be replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney. These new legal instruments will cover deputy decision-making arrangements for both financial and heath and welfare issues. Lasting Powers of Attorney will offer additional safeguards and will provide the donor with more choice and flexibility as to whom they can appoint and the decisions that can be delegated to them.
	Although the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act 1985 will be repealed on implementation of the Mental Capacity Act, the legal effect of an EPA already made under the current law will be preserved. It will be possible to make an EPA until the point of enactment, and people will still be able to register and use Enduring Powers of Attorney after the Act is implemented.

Family Court (Imprisonments)

John Hemming: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people were imprisoned following in-camera hearings of the family court in each of the past three years; how many of these were imprisoned for offences relating to contempt of court; how many were imprisoned for more than a month; and for what offences, other than contempt, they were imprisoned.

Harriet Harman: Information on how many people have been sentenced to a term in prison by the family courts in each of the last three financial years is not recorded. However the following figures show the number of people remanded under custody. These cases include those sentenced to a prison sentence and those kept in police cells. The table also shows the number of people remanded on bail or for medical reports.
	
		
			  Financial year  Bail  Custody  Medical reports  Total 
			 2003-04 217 616 8 841 
			 2004-05 225 565 10 800 
			 2005-06 253 576 2 831 
			  Note: The figures are from the County and High Courts only and relate to the breach of Family Law Act 1996 orders.

Green and White Papers

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list in date order  (a) Green and  (b) White papers produced by her Department since October 2005.

Harriet Harman: In the absence of a precise definition for White and Green papers I have included details of all command papers published by my Department.
	From October 2005 to June 2006, 11 command papers have been published by DCA. I have listed them in date order as follows:
	Criminal Defence Service Bill supplement to Framework Document, 10 October 2005
	The Future of Legal ServicesPutting Consumers First White Paper, 17 October 2005
	Supporting Magistrates Courts to Provide Justice White Paper, 7 November 2005
	Autumn Performance Report, 20 December 2005
	Judicial Appointments 7th Annual Report 2004-05, 31 January 2006
	Government Response to Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
	Report on Courts: Small Claims, 27 February 2006
	Government Response to Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
	Report: Compensation Culture and NHS Redress Bill, 3 May 2006
	Judicial Statistics England and Wales 2005, 18 May 2006
	Departmental Report, 24 May 2006
	Draft Legal Services Bill, 24 May 2006
	Draft Coroners Bill, 12 June 2006.

Incapacity Benefit

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her assessment is of the reasons for the scale of the increase in successful appeals against incapacity benefit decisions since 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Appeals against incapacity benefit decisions are made to an appeal tribunal under section 12 of the Social Security Act 1998. Each year, the president of appeal tribunals reports, based on the cases coming before appeal tribunals, on the standards achieved by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the making of decisions against which an appeal lies to an appeal tribunal.
	The following table provides details, since 2001, on the number of: incapacity benefit claims; appeals received; and, the number of those appeals cleared in favour of the appellant, including the proportion successful.
	
		
			 IB appeals cleared in favour 
			   IB claims  IB appeals received  Number  Percentage of IB appeals received 
			 2001  46,890 14,190 30.3 
			 2002 411,630 59,210 18,150 30.7 
			 2003 802,300 63,220 22,060 34.9 
			 2004 772,490 61,510 21,590 35.1 
			 2005 698,230 65,140 22,970 35.3 
			  Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10. 2. IB claims 2002figures are for the period July 2002 to December 2002 only. 3. IB claimsdata are not available prior to July 2002. 4. Appeals received and clearedfigures are for each calendar year (January to December). 5. Appeals received and clearedall figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 6. Appeals received and clearedfigures for the latest months will rise substantially as information feeds through the Tribunals Service. 7. 'Cleared in favour' indicates that the appeal was cleared in favour of the appellant.  Sources: IB claimsMISP system IB appeals received and IB appeals cleared in favour100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System

Law Commission Reports

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which Law Commission reports published since 1976 have been implemented in legislation; what the implementing legislation was in each case; which reports are awaiting implementation; which reports awaiting legislation the Government have accepted  (a) in full and  (b) in part; and which Law Commission reports the Government have rejected.

Vera Baird: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. For completeness we have included table 5 which sets out those reports that are awaiting a decision by Government.

Post Office Contracts

Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs for which services  (a) her Department and  (b) its associated public bodies hold contracts with the Post Office; and what the (i) start and (ii) termination date is of each contract.

Bridget Prentice: Neither DCA, nor any of its associated public bodies, hold any contracts with the Post Office.

Repossessions

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in  (a) Southend West constituency and  (b) each borough in Essex in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The following table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made at each of the Essex county courts (Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester, Grays Thurrock, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea) since 1997.
	The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for instance repossessions at Southend-on-Sea county court may relate to properties in other constituencies besides Southend West.
	These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	
		
			  Number of mortgage( 1)  possession orders made( 2)  at Essex county courts, 1997 to 2005 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Basildon 229 102 106 150 158 155 179 236 413 
			 Braintree(3) 69 
			 Chelmsford 106 106 66 106 55 65 61 105 161 
			 Colchester 195 220 153 131 135 123 142 178 254 
			 Grays Thurrock(4) 122 266 265   
			 Harlow 71 92 82 67 55 45 52 97 124 
			 Southend-on-Sea 221 253 224 187 123 139 142 172 290 
			   
			 Essex 1,013 1,039 896 641 526 527 576 788 1,242 
			 (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (3 )Braintree county court closed as of 1 December 1997. (4) Grays Thurrock county court closed as of 31 January 2000.

Repossessions

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in  (a) Stroud constituency and  (b) Gloucestershire in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: Although figures for Stroud constituency are not available (this court closed in 1994), the following table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made at Cheltenham and Gloucester court since 1997.
	The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for instance repossessions at Cheltenham county court may relate to properties in other constituencies besides Cheltenham.
	These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	
		
			  Number of mortgage( 1)  possession orders made( 2)  in Gloucestershire county courts, 1997 to 2005 
			   Cheltenham  Gloucester  Gloucestershire 
			 1997 52 113 165 
			 1998 59 139 198 
			 1999 60 100 160 
			 2000 31 71 102 
			 2001 34 81 115 
			 2002 23 85 108 
			 2003 17 83 100 
			 2004 35 101 136 
			 2005 51 137 188 
			 (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction.

Repossessions

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many properties were repossessed in each quarter since 2001, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Harriet Harman: The information is not available centrally in the exact format requested. The Department for Constitutional Affairs collects data on the number of mortgage possession orders made at each of the county courts in England and Wales. These figures, however, do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	Figures showing the number of these county court possession orders made in every quarter since 2001 are given in the relevant table that has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for each county court, the figures in the given table may relate to properties in other constituencies besides their own.

Repossessions

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in  (a) Yeovil constituency,  (b) the Somerset county council area and  (c) the south-west since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made at Yeovil county court, Somerset county council area and the south-west area since 1997.
	The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for instance repossessions at Yeovil county court may relate to properties in other constituencies besides Yeovil.
	These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	
		
			  Number of mortgage( 1)  possession orders made( 2)  in Yeovil county court, Somerset county council and the south-west, 1997-2005 
			   Yeovil  Somerset  South-west 
			 1997 65 122 1,928 
			 1998 109 144 2,077 
			 1999 76 134 2,026 
			 2000 53 106 1,307 
			 2001 40 78 1,063 
			 2002 33 65 1,023 
			 2003 40 73 1,025 
			 2004 50 99 1,407 
			 2005 90 170 2,283 
			 (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction.

Watkins Report

Mark Durkan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will publish the findings of the Watkins report into guidelines for procurement in the criminal justice system.

Bridget Prentice: The Northern Ireland Court Service has established an independent investigation into the acceptance of gifts and hospitality by its staff. This investigation is being undertaken by a retired senior Northern Ireland civil servant, Mr. David Watkins CB. In the course of his investigation Mr. Watkins has provided an interim report into the procurement arrangements of the Northern Ireland Court Service on the basis of which the Court Service has arranged for the procurement service of the Northern Ireland Office to undertake procurement activity on behalf of the Court Service. As this interim report forms part of the overall investigation being carried out by Mr. Watkins, the interim report will not be published until the investigation is concluded.

HEALTH

Abattoirs

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abattoirs have been closed in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The number of red meat and poultry abattoirs in the United Kingdom which surrendered their licences/approvals to operate or had them revoked in each year from 1997 to May 2006 is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Red meat abattoirs 
			   England  Scotland  Wales  Northern Ireland  Total 
			 1997 16  3 1 20 
			 1998 14 4 1 1 20 
			 1999 20 1 1  22 
			 2000 23 1   24 
			 2001 14 1   15 
			 2002 9  6  15 
			 2003 21  2 1 24 
			 2004 24 2 2 1 29 
			 2005 10 2 0  12 
			 May 2006 6 2 2  10 
			  191 
		
	
	
		
			  Poultry abattoirs 
			   England  Scotland  Wales  Northern Ireland  Total 
			 1997 9   1 10 
			 1998 6 2 3 1 12 
			 1999 8 1 3  12 
			 2000 4 1 1 2 8 
			 2001 5 1  2 8 
			 2002 7 2   9 
			 2003 6  2  8 
			 2004 6 2   8 
			 2005 11 1 3 1 16 
			 May 2006 1   1 2 
			  93

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she last discussed the issue of abortion with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church; what reply she gave; whether a note of the meeting was kept; whether she has further plans for such a meeting; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: My hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health, met with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church on 21 June. It was a private meeting so no note was kept. However, a statement was issued after the meeting saying:
	The Cardinal raised several issues with the Secretary of State including the 24-week time limit on abortion. The Secretary of State reiterated the Government's position that it has long been the parliamentary convention that proposals for changes in the law on abortion have come from backbench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Government believes this should still be the case and it has no plans to change the law on abortion.
	The Secretary of State has no further plans for such a meeting.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 20 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1794W, on abortion, if she will ensure that the publication 'Abortion Statistics, England and Wales 2005' is made available on her Department's website on 4 July at 9.30 am; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The 2005 abortion statistics were published on the Department's website at 9.30 am on 4 July 2006.

Agenda for Change

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether adjustments need to be made to the calculation that was made of the costs of bank holidays in the Agenda for Change process.

Rosie Winterton: The estimates of the cost of implementing agenda for change were based on a wide range of assumptions covering all the pay and conditions of service of staff. After taking into account the scope for management action, it was decided to adjust reference prices over and above the planned increase in agenda for change investment in 2006-07 to take fuller account of assimilation costs.

Alzheimer's Disease

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) meetings were held and  (b) correspondence was exchanged between (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in her Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) regarding the NICE appraisal of Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galantamine and Memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 3 July 2006
	Ministers received a brief oral update on this appraisal from National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) officials on 7 June 2006. The progress of this appraisal also has been discussed with Ministers within the context of NICE's wider work programme at meetings on 2 March 2005 with NICE's chief executive and on 9 June 2005 with NICE's chief executive and chair.
	Departmental officials have had no meetings with NICE specifically to discuss this appraisal, but the progress of the appraisal has been discussed as part of the regular communications between NICE and the Department.
	The Department responded in writing to NICE's two consultation documents as part of this appraisal. Copies of the Department's responses are available in the Library.

Audiology

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to reduce the waiting times for NHS hearing aid patients.

Ivan Lewis: A national action plan is being developed to improve adult hearing services. The intention is to develop the way forward in partnership with stakeholders.
	In addition, several initiatives have been introduced through the modernising hearing aid services programme to increase capacity to deliver audiology services in England. These are the national framework contract (public-private partnership) to bring in additional independent sector capacity, the development of a new degree to help to address the shortage of audiologists and the introduction of Hearing Direct which provides follow-up care and advice for some hearing aid users.
	From April 2005, the 164 national health service audiology departments have been able to routinely assess for and fit digital hearing aids. It is for primary care trusts to ensure their local population benefits from the modernised services.

Breast Milk Substitutes

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of proposals put forward by the European Commission on the marketing of breast milk substitutes; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The content of the recast European Union (EU) directive on infant formula and follow-on formula is still to be finalised by member states.
	The Government will continue to press for changes to the advertising of infant formula and follow-on formula through the recast EU directive and intends to review United Kingdom legislation in this area.

Choose and Book System

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2006,  Official Report, column 935W, on the choose and book system, what discussions she had with GP representative bodies prior to the decision to introduce the new system; and what representations she received from  (a) representative bodies,  (b) GP practices and  (c) other organisations;
	(2)  pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2006,  Official Report, column 935W, what assessment she has made of the response of  (a) general practitioner practices,  (b) general practitioner representative bodies and  (c) other relevant organisations in respect of the introduction of the new system.

Ivan Lewis: The choice and booking direct enhanced service (DES) was agreed with the general practitioners' committee of the British Medical Association, as part of negotiations for the general medical service contract to take effect from 1 April 2006-07.
	An exhaustive list of representations since received by the Department in response to the introduction of the DES could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A brief search has identified over 300 letters and e-mails received on the subject matter relating to choose and book during the period 1 January 2005 to 31 May 2006.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for cognitive behavioural therapy in each primary care trust in the north-west in the latest period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 3 July 2006
	The Department does not routinely collect information on waiting times for appointments for treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy. Data are collected only for consultant-led services, but not when services have been provided by other mental health practitioners.
	Information for estimated average waiting times from general practitioner written referral to first out-patient appointment with a psychiatric consultant in each mental health provider trust in each of the last five years is available in the Library. The data are broken down into categories of provider trust, strategic health authority and Government office region where possible.

Departmental Websites

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many websites there are within her responsibilities; and what the total cost of maintaining such websites was in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: To determine the number and identify the costs associated with each of the websites which fall within the Secretary of State for Health's responsibilities would incur disproportionate costs.
	The Department is currently undertaking an audit of all its websites, as part of a review in accordance with the transformational Government strategy and its own overall communications strategy. This work is due to complete before the end of the year.
	Information about the Department's corporate website, externally facing websites managed and maintained by departmental staff, and the Department's executive agencies' websites is as follows:
	For the Department, the combined cost of the websites listed below for the year 2005-06 was 1,079,222. These figures include website and search engine hosting and maintenance, development and dedicated staff costs (using agreed civil service staff costs including salaries, common services etc.).
	www.dh.gov.uk
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk
	www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk
	www.info.doh.gov.uk
	www.bristol-inquiry.org.uk
	www.carers.gov.uk
	www.carestandardstribunal.gov.uk
	www.londonshealth.gov.uk
	www.minorityhealth.gov.uk
	www.rlcinquiry.org.uk
	www.royal-commission-elderly.gov.uk.
	For the NHS in England, the cost of the NHS in England website (www.nhs.uk) for the year 2005-06 was 1,550,716. This figure includes hosting and maintenance, development and dedicated staff costs.
	For the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA), the cost of maintenance of the NHS PASA websites (www.pasa.doh.gov.uk and nww.pasa.doh.gov.uk) for the year 2005-06 was 86,000. This cost includes dedicated staff salaries.
	For the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the cost of the MHRA websites (www.mhra.gov.uk and www.gprd.com) for the year 2005-06 was 560,000. This includes editorial content, technical support, hosting and software maintenance. It also includes depreciation of software and build costs.

Diabetes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with diabetes were offered retinal screening in Warrington Primary Care Trust in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of people with diabetes in the area this represented.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 3 July 2006
	6,975 people were offered retinopathy screening in Warrington Primary Care Trust in the last 12 months to March 2006. This represents a proportion of 95 per cent. of people with diabetes.

District Community Nursing

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district community nurses are employed by the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority.

Caroline Flint: The number of community district nurses employed in the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority area is 627 as at 30 September 2005. The number of community district nurses employed by primary care trusts (PCTs) and acute trusts in the SHA area is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Surrey and Sussex SHA  Headcount 
			 Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT 71 
			 Bexhill and Rother PCT 15 
			 Crawley PCT 20 
			 East Elmbridge and Mid-Surrey PCT 51 
			 East Surrey PCT 29 
			 Eastbourne Downs PCT 26 
			 Guildford and Waverley PCT 43 
			 Hastings and St. Leonards PCT 23 
			 Horsham and Chactonbury PCT 54 
			 Mid-Sussex PCT 15 
			 North Surrey PCT 62 
			 South Downs Health National Health Service Trust 46 
			 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust 1 
			 Surrey Heath and Working PCT 53 
			 Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 27 
			 Western Sussex PCT 91 
			  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care, non-medical workforce census 2005.

District Community Nursing

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of district community nursing.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 3 July 2006
	District nurses and their teams will play a key role in the future, especially to meet the needs of an ageing population, to support people with long-term conditions and care for people who choose to die at home. There will be a need for nurses with specialist skills and knowledge to lead and provide care for patients in the community. Their role will develop in response to the transfer of care to the community, new technologies, new roles such as community matrons, and patient choice. These changes will require nurses in the community to develop new skills, work in new ways and be part of integrated teams across hospital and community, general practice and social care.

Doctors

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants are available to treat patients in the Bournemouth primary care trust area.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not available centrally.

Drug Rehabilitation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the effect of NHS Trust deficits on the provision of drug rehabilitation programmes.

Caroline Flint: The 2005-06 provisional outturn position shows the national health service as a whole to be forecasting a net year-end deficit of around 512 million, which is less than 1 per cent. of total net NHS expenditure.
	A minority of NHS organisations are in deficit. The majority of NHS organisations are in financial balance or surplus and are delivering improvements to access and the quality of patient care.
	We have set NHS organisations the requirement to deliver better standards of care and quicker access than ever before. There can be no trade-off between meeting these requirements and delivering financial balance.
	The Department, supported by 22 million of funding from the Home Office, will provide drug action teams (DATs) with 394.6 million for drug treatment in 2006-07 which is an increase of over 30 per cent. from last year. This funding is additional to NHS primary care trusts' own investment and will be used for personnel, day-to-day running of services, and building and refurbishment of premises. For every 1 spent on drug treatment, at least 9.50 is saved in crime and health costs.

Elderly Care (Staff Protocol)

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the use of first names by nursing staff when addressing elderly patients; and whether any instructions have been issued on this matter.

Ivan Lewis: We have set up a dignity in care initiative to ensure all older people are treated with dignity when using health and social care services. In 2003, we published the Essence of Care benchmarking tool, which contains guidance on respecting a patient's personal boundaries, including agreeing the name by which the patient wishes to be addressed.

Food Safety Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the operation of the Food Safety Act 1990; what recent representations she has received about the operation of this Act; and whether she has plans to amend this Act.

Caroline Flint: The Food Safety Act 1990 is the main statute on food safety and standards in Great Britain. It was, however, substantially amended in 2004 to take account of Regulation (EC) 178/2002, which lays down some general principles and requirements of food law within the European Union.
	A code of practice produced under section 40 of the Act lays down enforcement procedures and was revised this year along with the accompanying guidance.
	The Food Standards Agency has received no recent representations about the operation of the Act and there are no plans to amend it further.

Food Supplements

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many dossiers have been received by the Food Standards Agency from manufacturers seeking to gain derogation until 2009 from the provisions of the food supplements directive; in how many cases such derogations were  (a) given and  (b) not given; for which substances derogation has not been given; and for what reasons derogation was denied in each case;
	(2)  when officials of which other European Union member states officials of the Food Standards Agency have recently met to discuss the interpretation and implementation of the food supplements directive; on what date such meetings were held; and what the outcome was of the discussions;
	(3)  when officials of  (a) her Department and  (b) the Food Standards Agency last met the Better Regulation Task Force to discuss the economic impact of the food supplements directive; what actions were agreed at that meeting; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  whether officials of her Department have produced an analysis of the scientific papers upon which the German Government based their negotiating position when the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health recently considered the proposal to add boron to the list of nutrients permitted for use under the food supplements directive and the directive on foods for particular nutritional purposes; what steps she intends to take prior to the next discussions on this issue by the Standing Committee; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  whether officials of  (a) her Department and  (b) the Food Standards Agency have obtained a copy of the report on the safety of vitamins and minerals on which the German Government are basing their negotiating position in relation to the food supplements directive; whether the Government will produce a response to that document; and if she will make a statement;
	(6)  what strategy she has adopted to achieve her objectives for the interpretation and implementation of the food supplements directive; what progress she has made to date in implementing that strategy; what progress she has made in persuading other member states to agree to the United Kingdom's objectives for the implementation of that legislation; and if she will make a statement;
	(7)  what further steps she intends to take to ensure that right hon. and hon. Members are fully informed about progress towards the achievement of her objectives for the interpretation and implementation of the food supplements directive;
	(8)  with Ministers of which other European Union member states Ministers of her Department have recently met to discuss the interpretation and implementation of the Food Supplements Directive; on what date such meetings were held; and what the outcome was of the discussions.

Caroline Flint: Dossiers for 421 substances were accepted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) from manufacturers seeking to gain derogation for the substances to remain on the United Kingdom (UK) market. Of these, 46 dossiers were submitted after 12 July 2005 and the FSA had been given to understand that receipt of these dossiers was acceptable, and had advised that the substances covered by these could continue to be used in supplements. The European Commission (EC) has subsequently advised that the substances cannot benefit from the derogation. The FSA is carrying out inquiries of the relevant companies to obtain accurate details of the substances concerned. The 375 dossiers submitted before the deadline are awaiting an opinion from the European Food Safety Authority, and a decision by the standing committee on the food chain and animal health.
	Meetings were held with the Netherlands (7 March), Germany (20 March), Finland (31 March), Ireland (6 April), Italy (20 April) and France (24 April). The meetings were used to present the outcome of preliminary discussions in the absence of EC proposals by the FSA board on setting maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements, and the UK market for food supplements. Member states were receptive to the ideas presented by the FSA but had not developed their own definitive positions in the absence of proposals from the EC.
	FSA officials discussed what work might be undertaken to provide information on the economic impact of the food supplements directive with respect to setting maximum levels of vitamins and minerals with the better regulation executive on 2 June 2006. It was agreed that this should be discussed further after the EC has published its discussion documents on this issue.
	FSA officials have considered the papers provided by the German Government on the safety of boron. FSA officials have discussed with the EC the fact that the issue under consideration is the addition of substances to the annexes in the food supplements directive and, not at this stage, to agree maximum levels for individual vitamins and minerals. The FSA is considering this and the EC is awaiting its advice before there is a further discussion at the EC standing committee.
	The FSA has received a copy of the report published by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany, which outlines recommended levels for certain vitamins and minerals. A response to the report is not planned. No proposals on setting levels have been published by the EC to date, and member states have yet to indicate their negotiating positions.
	The outcome of preliminary discussions by the FSA board on setting maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements, in the absence of EC proposals, has formed the basis of discussions with member states on this issue. The UK strategy has been to encourage discussion with other key member states and to engage in discussions on this subject at this early stage, prior to papers being published by the EC. This strategy has been developed to implement the objectives of Health Ministers. A number of meetings have been held with member states.
	Right hon. and hon. Members will be updated on the food supplements directive via ministerial correspondence and replies to parliamentary questions.
	No meetings have been held with Ministers from other European Union member states on the food supplements directive. A letter has been sent to all Ministers advising them of the preliminary discussions by the FSA board in September 2005 on setting maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements.

Health Services (Stoke-on-Trent)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent  (a) obesity rate and  (b) smoking rate was in (i) Stoke-on-Trent, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England.

Caroline Flint: The main source of data available on the obesity and smoking rates among adults is the Health Survey for England (HSE) and the General Household Survey (GHS). Data are not available in the format requested. However, tables 1 to 4 show the most recent data available on the estimates of obesity and smoking prevalence at Standard Housing Association, Government Office Region (GOR) and national level.
	Table 1 presents the data on obesity among adults in Shropshire and Staffordshire (the former SHA which contains Stoke-on-Trent). The sample size of the HSE does not allow figures to be produced below SHA level.
	
		
			  Table 1: Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 16 and over in the former Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA, by gender (three-year average), 2000-02 
			   Percentage 
			 Men 20.7 
			 Women 25.6 
			 All adults 23.4 
			   
			  Base  
			 Men 396 
			 Women 464 
			 All adults 860 
			  Source:  Health Survey for England: health and lifestyle indicators for strategic health authorities 1994 to 2002, Department of Health. 
		
	
	Table 2 presents data on smoking prevalence among adults in Shropshire and Staffordshire.
	
		
			  Table 2: Prevalence of smoking among adults aged 16 and over in the former Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA (three-year average), by gender 
			  2000-02  Percentage 
			 Men 22.9 
			 Women 23.8 
			 All adults 23.4 
			   
			  Base  
			 Men 444 
			 Women 528 
			 All adults 972 
			  Source:  Health Survey for England: health and lifestyle indicators for strategic health authorities1994-2002, Department of Health. 
		
	
	Table 3 shows the proportion of adults who were obese in West Midlands Government Office Region (GOR) in 2003.
	
		
			  Table 3: Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 16 and over in West Midlands GOR, 2003 
			   Percentage 
			 Men 23.0 
			 Women 28.7 
			   
			  Base (weighted)  
			 Men 676 
			 Women 696 
			   
			  Base (unweighted)  
			 Men 629 
			 Women 778 
			  Source:  Health Survey for England 2003, Department of Health. 
		
	
	Table 4 shows the prevalence of smoking among adults in West Midlands GOR in 2004.
	
		
			  Table 4: Prevalence of smoking among adults aged 16 and over in West Midlands GOR, by gender, 2004 
			   Percentage 
			 Men 26 
			 Women 21 
			 All Adults 23 
			   
			  Base (weighted)  
			 Men 1,647 
			 Women 1,973 
			 All adults 3,621 
			   
			  Base (unweighted)  
			 Men 589 
			 Women 714 
			 All adults 1,303 
			  Source:  General Household Survey 2004, ONS. 
		
	
	Tables 5 and 6 shows the prevalence of obesity among adults in England in 2004 and the prevalence of smoking among adults in 2004.
	
		
			  Table 5: Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 16 and over in England, 2004 
			   Percentage 
			 Men 22.7 
			 Women 23.2 
			   
			  Base (weighted)  
			 Men 39,244 
			 Women 39,803 
			   
			  Base (unweighted)  
			 Men 2,444 
			 Women 3,135 
			  Source:  Health Survey for England 2004updating of trend tables to include 2004 data. The Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 6: Prevalence of smoking among adults aged 16 and over in England, 2004 
			   Percentage 
			 Men 26 
			 Women 23 
			 All adults 25 
			   
			  Base (weighted)  
			 Men 16,855 
			 Women 19,148 
			 All adults 36,004 
			   
			  Base (unweighted)  
			 Men 5,884 
			 Women 6,832 
			 All adults 12,716 
			  Source:  General Household Survey 2004, ONS.

Health Workers (International Recruitment)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the government of the Philippines regarding  (a) the effects of health worker migration from the Philippines to the United Kingdom and  (b) the full inclusion of the Philippines in the Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Workers.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 3 July 2006
	Departmental officials met the ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines in December 2005. Information was exchanged on both countries' healthcare work force. The Philippines is not included in the list of countries from which recruitment is discouraged.

Hepatitis C

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average waiting time for hepatitis C patients was from referral to first appointment with a consultant in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average waiting time was in the Bournemouth primary care trust for liver biopsy for hepatitis C patients in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many patients in the Bournemouth primary care trust area received interferon treatment for hepatitis C with or without ribavirin in 2005-06; and how many of these waited for more than three months from their first hospital consultation.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not available centrally.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new groups have been deemed at risk of influenza for the 2006-07 winter.

Caroline Flint: No new groups have been added to this year's recommendation for influenza vaccine.

Management Consultancy

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions she had with primary care trusts about the level of expenditure on management consultancy;
	(2)  what guidelines she lays down on expenditure on management consultancy by primary care trusts.

Rosie Winterton: My hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not had any specific discussions with primary care trusts (PCTs) about the level of expenditure on management consultancy, neither has the Department issued any specific guidance to PCTs relating to expenditure on management consultants.

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of calls to NHS Direct have been referred to  (a) 999 and  (b) an accident and emergency department in each quarter since December 2002.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of calls referred to 999 services by NHS Direct( 1)  Percentage of calls to NHS Direct which have been referred to 999  Number of calls referred to accident and emergency (AE)( 2)  Percentage of calls to NHS Direct which have been referred to AE 
			  2002-03 
			 Q4 52,765 5.63 105,230 11.22 
			  
			  2003-04 
			 Q1 49,065 5.41 106,974 11.79 
			 Q2 50,860 5.89 109,361 12.67 
			 Q3 57,681 6.19 98,794 10.60 
			 Q4 58,948 6.05 106,576 10.93 
			  
			  2004-05 
			 Q1 58,583 5.91 104,427 10.53 
			 Q2 56,105 5.89 94,873 9.96 
			 Q3 62,673 5.83 94,189 8.76 
			 Q4 62,000 5.46 91,395 8.05 
			  
			  2005-06 
			 Q1 59,261 5.49 99,764 9.24 
			 Q2 55,685 3.42 97,610 6.00 
			 Q3 62,046 3.60 98,766 5.73 
			 Q4 61,005 3.47 97,115 5.53 
			 (1) Calls referred to ambulance or paramedic services.  (2) Calls where patients are asked to attend an AE department.   Source:  NHS Direct Special Health Authority

NHS IT Programme

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2006, on the NHS IT programme, what estimate she has made of total expenditure by NHS trusts on the programme to date.

Caroline Flint: Total information management and technology (IMT) expenditure reported by the national health service in the last year for which figures are available (2004-05) amounted to about 1.2 billion. As well as supporting local implementation of the national programme for information technology (IT), NHS spending covers IT requirements such as staff management and finance systems. However, figures for expenditure on implementing the national programme, separate from the totality of NHS spending on IMT, are not collected centrally.

NHS Staff

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff have been made redundant in 2006-07 to date, broken down by category of staff.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Patient Transport

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer patients received  (a) full and  (b) partial help with travel and parking costs through the hospital travel costs scheme during the last year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect figures on the numbers of any type of patient who receive help through the hospital travel costs scheme. It is for primary care trusts, as local commissioners of services, to make provisions so that patients with either a financial or medical need for transport can travel to and from their treatment or care.

Referrals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many referrals were made by general practitioners through  (a) the directly bookable service,  (b) the indirectly bookable service and  (c) all means in each month since December 2005.

Caroline Flint: The data requested are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Directly bookable  Indirectly bookable  Total bookings 
			 December 2005 4,732 15,212 19,944 
			 January 2006 8,094 24,200 32,294 
			 February 2006 12,354 35,395 47,749 
			 March 2006 20,251 48,966 69,217 
			 April 2006 22,005 47,680 69,685 
			 May 2006 37,330 78,222 115,552

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 7 June 2006,  Official Report, column 264, on NHS performance, what assessment she has made of where responsibility lies for the deficit of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust.

Caroline Flint: It is for the NHS South West to make any such assessment, and take the necessary action in co-operation with the local national health service. The Secretary of State for Health was advised by KPMG as part of the initial assessment for turnaround in February 2006 that Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust was a category one organisation and would thus require immediate support to deliver a turnaround.

School Meals

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the amount of transfatty acids in school meals; and what steps she is taking to reduce it;
	(2)  what the recommended maximum level is of trans fatty acids in the national school meal guidelines.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	The School Meals Review Panel considered the need for a specific standard for trans fatty acids to be included within their proposals, and concluded against imposing a specific standard for the following reasons:
	Evidence shows that adult intakes of trans fatty acids are well below the maximum threshold level for health;
	Adopting a standard to limit the fat content of school meals would contribute towards controlling levels of trans fatty acids; and
	Food-based standards would include restrictions on foods which tend to be higher in trans fatty acids (for example savoury snacks and confectionery).
	The School Food Trust supported the panel's view that their proposals would sufficiently control trans fatty acids, and that there was no need to develop a specific standard for trans fatty acids which had the potential to complicate the new standards unnecessarily, making it more difficult for schools and local authorities to implement.

Seat Belts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the  (a) annual savings and  (b) total saving to date to the national health service by (i) front and (ii) rear seat belt wearing being made compulsory; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Government do not have estimates on the savings to the national health service due to wearing of front and rear seat belts. Over 2,000 road fatalities are, however, estimated to be prevented every year by the use of seat belts.

Short Break Provision (Surrey)

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was spent on short break provision in Surrey in the last year for which figures are available; and how many hours break this provided;
	(2)  how many hours' short break service, on average, were provided in respect of people with a learning disability in Surrey who received the care component of disability living allowance at the  (a) highest,  (b) middle and  (c) lowest rate in the last period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many  (a) carers of people with a learning disability,  (b) children with a learning disability and  (c) adults with a learning disability in Surrey receive a short break service.

Caroline Flint: This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of local commissioners to ensure appropriate provision of services to meet their community's needs.

Teenage Pregnancy

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of teenage pregnancy was in Lancashire in each year since 1997.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 4 July 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the rate of teenage pregnancy was in Lancashire in each year since 1997. (81766)
	Available figures are estimates of the number of pregnancies that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or termination.
	Teenage conception numbers and rates in Lancashire County from 1991 to 2004 (the most recent year for which figures are available) are given in the table below. Figures for 2004 are provisional.
	
		
			  Teenage conceptions: numbers and rates for Lancashire county, 1997-2004 
			   Number  Rate( 1) 
			 1997 987 46 
			 1998 1,031 48 
			 1999 928 43 
			 2000 1,008 46 
			 2001 922 41 
			 2002 960 42 
			 2003 931 41 
			 2004(2) 968 42 
			 (1) Rate per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17.  (2) Provisional.

Tetanus

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the supply of human tetanus immunoglobulin for prophylactic use.

Caroline Flint: Reserve supplies of human tetanus immunoglobulin are available for the treatment of those people with tetanus.
	Manufacturers have confirmed that sufficient supplies to treat tetanus-prone wounds, where clinically indicated, will be available by mid-July 2006. We have provided clinical advice on the management of tetanus-prone wounds if hospitals do not have adequate supplies of human tetanus immunoglobulin.

Water

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted into the health effects of  (a) tap water and  (b) bottled mineral water.

Caroline Flint: The Government are responsible for implementing and enforcing safety limits for tap water and all types of bottled water.
	The safety of drinking water is of such importance to public health that the underpinning science is kept under continuous review. The World Health Organisation (WHO) manages a global process of rolling revision of drinking water guidelines on behalf of the water and health regulators in all countries. All countries contribute knowledge based on published peer reviewed studies and on data from their national research programmes.
	On behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the drinking water inspectorate manages the national drinking water quality and health research programme. Executive summaries of all research reports since 1997 are published on the Foundation for Water Research's website at: www.fwr.org, where details can be found of how to obtain copies of the full reports. This website also provides access to other relevant research reports being undertaken in Europe.
	The safety standards for natural mineral water and other bottled waters are laid down in European directives. These standards are set taking account of studies reviewed by WHO and the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority.

Wound Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was spent by the NHS on branded wound care products in 2005; and what research her Department has undertaken into the purchase of non-branded products;
	(2)  if she will introduce a centralised procurement policy for wound care products.

Andy Burnham: The national health service spend on branded wound care products through NHS Logistics and prescriptions sent to the Prescription Pricing Authority was 171,132,847 for 2005.
	Branded has been interpreted to mean as where product descriptions clearly identify a specific manufacturer and brand of product.
	No research has taken place within the Department into the procurement of non-branded products. As part of the procurement process for procurement of products through NHS Logistics, use of clinical staff and product testing is incorporated to ensure that, where appropriate, rationalised product ranges on agreements provide the NHS with value for money.
	The Department's policy on the procurement of goods and services in or on behalf of the NHS is based on value for money with due regard to propriety and regularity and ensuring full compliance with the European Union procurement directive and other regularity requirements.
	All wound care products spend through NHS Logistics are purchased via national framework agreements where detailed product specification has been placed following discussions with clinical staff.

TREASURY

Causes of Death

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) 14 to 16, (ii) 17 to 21, (iii) 22 to 24, (iv) 25 to 30, (v) 31 to 35 and (vi) 36 to 40 years died as a result of (A) road traffic accidents, (B) suicide, (C) sexually transmitted diseases, (D) drug misuse, (E) alcohol misuse and (F) murder/manslaughter in (1) Southend-on-Sea, (2) Essex, (3) Hertfordshire, (4) the Metropolitan police area of London, (5) the City of London police area and (6) England and Wales in each year since 1986.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 4 July 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 14 to 16, (ii) 17 to 21, (iii) 22 to 24, (iv) 25 to 30, (v) 31 to 35 and (vi) 36 to 40 years died as a result of (A) road traffic accidents, (B) suicide, (C) sexually transmitted diseases, (D) drug misuse, (E) alcohol misuse and (F) murder/manslaughter in (1) Southend-on-Sea, (2) Essex, (3) Hertfordshire, (4) the Metropolitan Police area of London, (5) the City of London Police area and (6) England and Wales in each year since 1986.
	ONS routinely publishes numbers of deaths for causes which may be sexually transmitted, such as HIV or Hepatitis B infection. Information is not however normally available from the death certificate on the actual method of transmission for deaths from these causes and so figures for sexually transmitted diseases cannot be provided. Mortality data are not available for Police Areas, therefore we have provided figures for the London borough of City of London and for London Government Office Region.
	The most recently available information is for deaths registered in 2005. Figures for deaths in males and females aged 14 to 40 years for land transport accidents, suicide or injury/poisoning of undetermined intent, alcohol-related causes, and assault are shown in the attached tables for each year from 1988 to 2005. I am placing copies of these tables in the House of Commons Library. Data for 1986 and 1987 are not available for area boundaries that are consistent with subsequent years and have not therefore been provided. Figures for drug misuse are only available from a special database containing deaths occurring from 1993-2004.

Construction Industry

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to his answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 91W, on construction industry registration cards, how many temporary construction industry services registration cards were issued in each year since 1999-2000; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The total number of temporary construction industry services registration cards issued since 1999 is 350,000 (this figure is rounded to the nearest 50,000).
	Estimated numbers issued each year since 1999-2000 are provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of temporary cards issued 
			 1999-2000 41,000 
			 2000-01 23,000 
			 2001-02 24,000 
			 2002-03 40,000 
			 2003-04 54,000 
			 2004-05 74,000 
			 2005-06 77,000

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will answer the letter to of 18 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Christine Hayes.

Dawn Primarolo: I have done so.

Customs (Cornwall)

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers were on long-term sick leave on 1 June of each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of former HM Customs and Excise (HMC and E) employees on the HMC and E payroll on long-term sickness absence on 1 June of each year since 1997 are:
	
		
			  1 June:  Number of absences 
			 1997 308 
			 1998 319 
			 1999 311 
			 2000 319 
			 2001 349 
			 2002 334 
			 2003 334 
			 2004 319 
			 2005 289 
			 2006 268 
		
	
	A long-term absence is defined here as one which has lasted more than four consecutive weeks.

Drug Seizures

John Leech: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recorded drug seizures there have been around the coast of Devon and Cornwall since 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: The national information on drugs seizures made by HM Revenue and Customs since 2003 is contained in the Annual Report. The figures for the year ending March 2006 will be published in the next Annual Report.
	Information on drug seizures by location cannot be disclosed. Doing so would provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent HM Revenue and Customs' controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of crime.

Financial Services Division

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people worked in his Department's Financial Services Division sub-departments on  (a) financial crime,  (b) financial services strategy,  (c) financial stability and risk,  (d) payments and inclusion and  (e) savings and investment in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

John Healey: holding answer 3 July 2006
	The organisational structure of the teams responsible for financial services has changed on several occasions during 2000-06. The current breakdown of staff between the five teams is shown in the table. The figures quoted are on the basis of full-time equivalent staff in post on 1 April, rounded to the nearest whole number.
	The total number of staff working in the teams responsible for financial services in the finance and industry directorate of Her Majesty's Treasury on 1 April in each of the past five years, on a broadly comparable basis, has been: 62 in 2002, 58 in 2003, 72 in 2004, 74 in 2005 and 72 in 2006. A proportion of the directorate's senior management resources also contributes to the work on financial services.
	
		
			 Range  Financial Services Strategy  Financial Crime  Financial Stability and Risk  Payments and Inclusion  Savings and Investment 
			 SCS 1 1 1 1 1 
			 E 6 6 6 5 5 
			 D 3 8 6 3 7 
			 A-C 3 3 2 2 2 I 
			 Total 13 18 15 11 15

Illegal Firearms

John Leech: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the number of illegal firearms entering the port of Falmouth since 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: No estimate is available for the number of firearms illegally entering the United Kingdom through Falmouth.
	Figures on the firearms HM Revenue and Customs have seized nationally are available in the Annual Reports of HM Revenue and Customs, the most recent being published 19 December 2005. Figures for the financial period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 will be published in the next Annual Report.

Illegal Products (Seizures)

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many seizures of  (a) illegal firearms,  (b) drugs and  (c) cigarettes have been made in Suffolk in each of the last 5 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The national information on seizures made by HM Revenue and Customs since 2003 is contained in the annual report. The figures for the year ending March 2006 will be published in the next annual report.
	Information on seizures by location cannot be disclosed, as this would provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent HM Revenue and Customs' controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of crime.

Income Data

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the average income per person in Yeovil constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest estimates for the mean and median of total income (for taxpayers only) by constituency can be found in table 3.15 Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency on HM Revenue and Customs website. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu-by-year.htm#315.
	The information is based on the latest Survey of Personal Incomes (2003-04).
	Because sample sizes at constituency level are small and estimates can demonstrate a large variability from year to year, inference from the information in the table should take into account the confidence intervals in table 3.15a Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency, Confidence Intervals.
	Similar information including non-taxpayers is not available.

Individual Savings Account

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have taken out the maximum 7,000 individual savings account for the year 2005-06.

Edward Balls: This figure is not yet available for 2005-06. The latest published figure for the number of individuals subscribing 7,000 to ISAs is 949,000 in 2001-02. This information can be found on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/isa/table9_7_01-02.pdf
	More recent data will be available later this year.

Internal Leaks

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many internal leak inquiries have been conducted in his Department in each year since 1997;
	(2)  whether his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) special advisers have requested a leak inquiry at the tax credit office since January; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 January 2006,  Official Report, column 543W.

National Youth Volunteering Service

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on the establishment of the national youth volunteering service; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 27 June 2006
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 822W to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office.

Personal Allowance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the revenue implications of introducing a personal allowance of 7,185, absorbing the starting rate band on earnings and savings in the basic rate band, cutting the basic rate of income tax to 20 per cent. with tax rates on dividends unchanged, increasing the basic rate limit to 42,815, keeping the personal allowances for people aged 65 to 74 and 75 years at their current levels and abolishing all other age-related allowances; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will estimate the revenue implications of introducing a personal allowance of 7,500, absorbing the starting rate band on earnings and savings in the basic rate band, cutting the basic rate of income tax to 20 per cent., with tax rates on dividends unchanged, increasing the basic rate limit to 42,500, and raising all the age-related allowances to 7,500; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Cost of tax options 2006-07 
			  Options( 1)  Personal allowance ()  Starting rate (percentage)  Basic rate( 2)  (percentage)  Basic rate limit ()  Personal allowance (aged 65 to 74) ()  Personal allowance (aged above 74) ()  Additional cost ( billion) 
			 Current regime 5,035 10 22 33,300 7,280 7,420  
			 Option 1(3) 7,185 20 20 42,815 7,280 7,420 -16.6 
			 Option 2(4) 7,500 20 20 42,500 7,500 7,500 -18.9 
			 ( 1)  The changes are assumed to take place in 2006-07 and the additional costs are estimated liabilities for the same year.( 2)  The marginal rate on earnings.( 3)  The option assumes abolishing the married couples' allowance.( 4)  The option would cost 18.3 billion with the married couples' allowance abolished. 
		
	
	The estimates are based on the 2003-04 survey of personal incomes projected forward to 2006-07 in line with Budget 2006 assumptions.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax changes, which could be significant given the scale of the changes.

Phoenix Engineering

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate the administrative errors in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs which have identified overpayments and underpayments of tax by Phoenix Engineering Company Ltd. of Chard, Somerset; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I am unable to comment on this particular company's tax affairs because of the requirement for customer confidentiality.

Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to reduce poverty in Yeovil constituency since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury has, in partnership with other Government Departments, tackled poverty and promoted economic opportunity through:
	Promoting macroeconomic stability
	Supporting work for those who can and ensuring that work pays, through the new deals, a national minimum wage and the working tax credit
	Providing financial support for groups at particular risk of poverty, such as child benefit and the child tax for families, and the pension credit for pensioners.
	Across the UK, these measures have helped lift more than a million people out of poverty since 1997. Tax credits are benefiting more than 380,000 families in the South West region, and in Yeovil claimant unemployment has fallen by over 50 per cent., youth unemployment has fallen by 67 per cent. and long-term unemployment has fallen by over 90 per cent.

Remittances

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total amount of remittances sent abroad by UK-based foreign nationals over the last five years, broken down by country.

Edward Balls: The UK authorities do not produce official statistics of workers' remittances disaggregated on the basis of destination country. The breakdown of the size of immigrant communities in the UK provides one indicator on the destination of the bulk of remittance flows out of the UK. Estimates of the size of UK remittance market can be found in the report of the UK Remittances Working Group(1), established in 2004 by the Department for International Development (DFID). This shows that DFID believes the most reliable estimate for total remittances from the UK to developing countries to be 2.3 billion in 2005 and thatbased on the size of diaspora communitiesthe primary developing country recipients of UK remittances are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Caribbean, Kenya, Nigeria and China.
	(1) Available at www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/uk-remittances-report.pdf

Sun Care Products

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reduce the VAT on children's sun care products to an essential rating of 5 per cent.

Dawn Primarolo: All taxes are kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process. To date the Government have been sparing in our use of reduced rates of VAT and have only introduced them where they offer the best targeted and most cost effective support for Government objectives, when considered against alternative policy instruments.
	Outside the VAT system the Government have provided funding to Cancer Research UK's national skin cancer prevention campaign, 'SunSmart'. This campaign includes raising awareness of skin cancer and highlights the need for early detection and presentation.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax credit overpayment has been written off due to hardship in each quarter since April 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Audited details of new tax credit overpayments written off are compiled annually to the end of October. Available figures for overpayments written off due to hardship are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   
			  Year to end of October  Amount written off 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 155,000

Tax Credits

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures are in place to tackle fraud in the claiming of  (a) research and development tax credits and  (b) vaccines research relief; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs manages non-compliance through a process of risk assessment and deploys resources according to the risks identified.
	As with other elements of companies' tax or computations, claims for RD tax credits and vaccine relief research are subject to risk assessment procedures. When significant risks are identified they are pursued through a variety of interventions, one of which involves the opening of an enquiry into the company tax return or claim. If as a result of the inquiry a return or claim is found to be incorrect, steps will be taken to recover the tax due. In such circumstances interest will be charged and penalties will be considered where appropriate.
	The document published at PBR Supporting growth in innovation: next steps for the RD tax credit announced that HMRC would set up specialist units to handle all claims dealt with outside the Large Business Service. The new units are intended to ensure greater consistency in the handling of claims. This should include a more consistent and effective approach to tackling non-compliance.
	Where serious fraud is identified the Department will adopt its normal civil or criminal investigation procedures.

Tax Credits

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the administration costs of  (a) research and development tax credits and  (b) vaccines research relief; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his previous question on 1 November 2005,  Official Report, column 991W.

Treasury Select Committee

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department will provide the information requested by the Treasury Select Committee in paragraph 109 of volume one of its fourth report of session 2005-06 (HC994-1), The 2006 Budget; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government's response to the Treasury Committee's report on the 2006 Budget was issued yesterday.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to which institutions his Department has given funds for adult education in  (a) Lambeth and  (b) Vauxhall in the last three years; and what the amount was in each case.

Bill Rammell: In 2003/04 the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) allocated 25.5 million to providers in the Lambeth area for adult provision, 26.8 million in 2004/05 and 26.75 million in 2005/06. Separate figures for the Vauxhall area are not available. The individual provider allocations are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   million 
			   2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			 Lambeth college (FE) 19.10 19.60 19.50 
			 Morley college (FE) 4.00 4.50 4.60 
			 Lambeth LEA (ACL/PCDL) 2.30 2.50 2.50 
			 TBG (WBL) 0.10 0.20 0.15 
			 Total 25.50 26.80 26.75

Apprenticeships

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in Year 10 and above in Yeovil constituency are on the apprenticeships scheme.

Phil Hope: There are no Key Stage 4 pupils in Yeovil currently on the Young Apprenticeship Programme. 30 Year 10 pupils are scheduled to start the programme in September 2006, with that number divided between Young Apprenticeships in engineering and in hospitality.

Baccalaureate

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in maintained schools in England took the International Baccalaureate in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: Figures for the number of pupils in maintained schools in England entered in the International Baccalaureate each year since 1995/96 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of pupils in maintained schools in England entered in the International Baccalaureate 
			   Number 
			 1995/96 101 
			 1996/97 104 
			 1997/98 134 
			 1998/99 137 
			 1999/2000 150 
			 2000/01 154 
			 2001/02 217 
			 2002/03 320 
			 2003/04 333 
			 2004/05 498

Bullying

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he has issued to schools on tackling bullying via mobile phone; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This Government have made clear that all forms of bullying, including bullying via mobile phone, are unacceptable and should be punished.
	Misuse of mobile phones was one of the specific issues considered by the Practitioners' Group on School Behaviour and Discipline, in its report Learning Behaviour (October 2005). The report points to the fact that, while mobile phones are now a part of daily life, head teachers need a clear policy on their possession and use on school site. The current Education and Inspections Bill re-enacts and strengthens the duty on schools to establish a behaviour policy. The accompanying Explanatory Notes require
	the head teacher to determine measures (which may include rules and provision for enforcing them) that promote self-discipline and a proper regard for authority, encourage good behaviour and respect for others, prevent bullying, secure that tasks are completed, and generally secure an acceptable standard of behaviour by pupils (Clause 76).
	We will be producing guidance on that duty which will specifically address the issue of mobile phone misuse.
	The seriousness with which bullying by mobile phone should be treated is referred to in our anti-bullying guidance pack for schools Don't Suffer in Silence. This resource is currently being revised to ensure that schools are provided with the most up-to-date information available.

Child Care

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government are taking to increase the number of child care places in Swindon.

Beverley Hughes: Statistics collected from local authorities (LAs) from 1999 to 2003 and from Ofsted from 2003 to March 2006 show that almost 2,000 new child care places were created in Swindon during that period.
	From 1999 to March 2005 LAs were set child care place creation targets. Since then, the emphasis has been on LAs obtaining a close match between supply and demand and working with providers to develop a sustainable child care market.
	General Sure Start Grant funding of more than 9.3 million has been awarded to the LA for 2006 to 2008, much of which may be used to help create places to meet the current and future demands of families in Swindon.

City Academies

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills with which  (a) businesses,  (b) charities,  (c) individuals and  (d) voluntary groups Ministers have corresponded about sponsoring city academies since 16 March 2006.

Jim Knight: My noble Friend Lord Adonis has sent letters to the following organisations:
	 (a) Businesses
	Sunderland Housing Group
	Northumbrian Water
	Leighton Group
	Bee Bee Developments Ltd.
	Catalyst Corby
	 (b) Charities
	(Bishop of Warrington) The right Rev. David Wilfred Michael Jennings
	The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool
	The Girls' Day School Trust
	Edge Foundation
	The London Diocesan Board of Schools
	United Learning Trust
	Garfield Weston Foundation
	 (c) Individuals
	David Dangoor
	(The Bishop of Leicester) The Very Reverend Tim Stevens
	Lord Harris of Peckham

Community Education

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the level of community education in 2006-07.

Phil Hope: There have been no formal representations on the level of community education in 2006-07. However, my colleagues and I have regular meetings about adult learning, including community education, with providers and stakeholders, including the Association of Colleges, the Local Government Association, the Workers' Educational Association, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and the National Federation of Women's Institutes.

Connexions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people below the age of 19 years have received support from Connexions in  (a) Yeovil constituency and  (b) Somerset in the past 12 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department collects data on the number of interventions provided but not on the number of young people receiving support. In the past 12 months 33,433 young people were counted in the Connexions cohort of young people in Somerset. They received a total of 37,935 interventions. The Department does not hold this information at constituency level.
	Departmental guidance is that, to count as an intervention there needs to be some element of assistance involving a substantial or meaningful exchange with the young person. This should be of enough significance to be noted in their client record. It would normally exclude straightforward referrals to specific opportunities, e.g. job submissions, the provision of factual information and simple follow up to find out if the young person still wanted assistance.

Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost to his Department was of replying to a letter written  (a) by an hon. Member and  (b) by a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (i) officials' time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs.

Bill Rammell: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 76-78WS. The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Criminal Offences

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department since April 2005, broken down by Act.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the replies given on 11 January 2005,  Official Report, column 450W, and 14 December 2005,  Official Report, column 2072W.
	Since 1 April 2005 eight new offences were created in legislation sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills.
	The Education Act 2005 created five new offences relating to the obstruction of an inspection. These provisions are found in sections 4(3), 10(2), 23(3), 24(4) (which relate to the inspection of schools) and in section 57(5) (which relates to the inspection of careers services in Wales).
	Two further offences were also created by sections 109 and 111 of the Education Act 2005. These concern the unauthorised disclosure of certain information arising from provisions introduced by the 2005 Act which permitted tax and social security information to be shared for the purpose of deciding on or checking eligibility for Education Maintenance Allowances and free school meals. Unauthorised disclosure of such information was therefore made an offence.
	The Children and Adoption Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 21 June 2006. By section 12(3) of the Act, which is not yet in force, one new offence concerning adoptions from abroad was created. An offence is committed when a British resident brings or causes another to bring a child into the United Kingdom and conditions specified by the Secretary of State have not been met.

Departmental Vehicles

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Department-owned vehicles have been issued to his staff in the last 12 months; to whom they were issued; for what reason; and at what cost.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has not issued any vehicles owned by the Department to staff during the last 12 months.

Edexcel

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of  (a) GCSE,  (b) AS and  (c) A-level examinations sat in 2006 will be written by Edexcel.

Jim Knight: These data are collected by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in the autumn following each examination series and are normally published in March the following year. Consequently, data on the summer 2006 examination series are not yet available.
	The data for 2005 are shown as follows:
	
		
			Total of examination papers set by Edexcel 
			  Qualification for which examination papers were sat  Total of examination papers set  Number  Percentage 
			 GCSE 1,563 430 27.5 
			 GCE 1,756 478 27.2

Education Funding

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Government funding for education services was administered centrally by Lancashire local education authority (LEA) in each of the last three years; and how much was administered on average by all LEAs in each year.

Jim Knight: The available information has been placed in the Libraries.

Education Funding

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the membership is of the School Funding Implementation Group.

Jim Knight: The School Funding Implementation Group advises the Department on matters relating to school funding, in the context of the wider policy objectives for schools and the Every Child Matters agenda. The members of the group are organisations representing school leaders, school governors, local authorities and the managers of the local education service, and these organisations are responsible for nominating their individual representatives.
	The current membership is: the Association of School and College Leaders, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the National Association of Head Teachers and the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (representing school leaders); the National Governors' Association (representing school governors); the Local Government Association (representing local authorities); and the Confederation of Education and Children's Services Managers (representing the management of the local education service). Representatives of the Audit Commission, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Learning and Skills Council also attend meetings as appropriate.

Education Premises

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many educational premises have been declared unfit for use since 1997.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of educational premises that have been declared unfit for use since 1997 is not held by the Department.

Emergency Protection Orders

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many emergency protection orders have been applied for by each social services local authority in each of the last three years; and how many of those were applied for ex parte;
	(2)  how many emergency protection orders were applied for by each local authority in each of the last three years; how many were applied for ex-parte; of the ex-parte orders granted how many of each were granted; and how many were for children (a) under and (b) over the age of one year.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of emergency protection order (EPO) applications made by local authorities is not collected by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Information on the number of children starting to be looked after for each social services local authority, as a result of an EPO made by the family courts, during the years ending 31 March 2003, 31 March 2004 and 31 March 2005 are presented in the following table. The DfES does not collect information about the numbers of ex-parte EPO applications.
	
		
			  Children who started to be looked after as a result of an emergency protection order being issued by family courts for the years ending 31 March 2003 to 2005 by legal status on starting( 1,2,3) 
			  Number 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  England 1,300 1,300 1,400 
			 
			  North East 70 50 60 
			  Shire counties
			 Durham 20 10 10 
			 Northumberland 0 0 10 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Darlington 10 0  
			 Hartlepool 5 0  
			 Middlesbrough 0 10  
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10  5 
			 Stockton on Tees 10 15  
			  Metropolitan districts 0 0 0 
			 Gateshead 5  10 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 0   
			 North Tyneside
			 South Tyneside 5   
			 Sunderland 0  0 
			 
			  North West 160 170 190 
			  Shire counties
			 Cheshire 10   
			 Cumbria 0 15 10 
			 Lancashire 20 10 15 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Blackburn and Darwen 10  10 
			 Blackpool 5  5 
			 Halton 0   
			 Warrington 10 5  
			  Metropolitan districts 0 0 0 
			 Bolton 10 10 5 
			 Bury 0 0 5 
			 Knowsley 0  0 
			 Liverpool 0 10 10 
			 Manchester 35 15 45 
			 Oldham 5 15 10 
			 Rochdale  15 10 
			 Salford 10 10  
			 Sefton 15   
			 St. Helens 0   
			 Stockport 0 10  
			 Tameside 10 10 10 
			 Trafford 10  10 
			 Wigan  10 5 
			 Wirral 15  10 
			 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 200 180 180 
			  Shire counties
			 North Yorkshire 5 15 5 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 East Riding Yorkshire 10  5 
			 Kingston upon Hull  10 10 
			 North East Lincolnshire 15 15 10 
			 North Lincolnshire 5  10 
			 York 0   
			  Metropolitan districts
			 Barnsley 10 10 10 
			 Bradford 25 25 25 
			 Calderdale  10  
			 Doncaster  10 15 
			 Kirklees  10 10 
			 Leeds 65 45 55 
			 Rotherham 15 5  
			 Sheffield 25 10 5 
			 Wakefield 10 15  
			 
			  East Midlands 130 110 90 
			  Shire counties
			 Derbyshire 25 15 15 
			 Leicestershire 20 15 0 
			 Lincolnshire 10 5 5 
			 Northamptonshire 20 30 35 
			 Nottinghamshire 20 10 10 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Derby 10 10 10 
			 Leicester 5 10 5 
			 Nottingham 20 10  
			 Rutland 0 0 0 
			 
			  West Midlands 220 160 220 
			  Shire counties
			 Shropshire 5  10 
			 Staffordshire 10 15 25 
			 Warwickshire  5 10 
			 Worcestershire 25 10 15 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Herefordshire 5 10  
			 Stoke-On-Trent 30 15 15 
			 Telford and Wrekin 15 10  
			  Metropolitan districts 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham 45 20 55 
			 Coventry 15  15 
			 Dudley 20 15 25 
			 Sandwell 15 20 15 
			 Solihull 0   
			 Walsall 25 20 20 
			 Wolverhampton  5  
			 
			  East of England 80 100 120 
			  Shire counties
			 Bedfordshire 20 20 5 
			 Cambridgeshire  10 15 
			 Essex 5 15 30 
			 Hertfordshire 10 10 5 
			 Norfolk   10 
			 Suffolk 15 10 10 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Luton 25 20 15 
			 Peterborough 0  10 
			 Southend 0  20 
			 Thurrock  5  
			 
			  London 250 280 250 
			  Inner London
			 Camden 5  5 
			 City of London 0 0 0 
			 Greenwich  10  
			 Hackney 10 5 10 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5 5  
			 Islington  15  
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 10  
			 Lambeth 0 15 15 
			 Lewisham  15 10 
			 Southwark 10 25 10 
			 Tower Hamlets 5 5 15 
			 Wandsworth 20 5 10 
			 Westminster 20 15  
			  Outer London 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 30 15 10 
			 Barnet 20 5  
			 Bexley
			 Brent 10 10  
			 Bromley 5   
			 Croydon  10 10 
			 Ealing 0   
			 Enfield 15 10 20 
			 Haringey 20 20 20 
			 Harrow  10 5 
			 Havering   0 
			 Hillingdon 0 10 0 
			 Hounslow 5 15 15 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0   
			 Merton 5  15 
			 Newham 15 10 20 
			 Redbridge 10  0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 10   
			 Sutton   10 
			 Waltham Forest 10   
			 
			  South East 150 140 190 
			  Shire counties
			 Buckinghamshire 0 5 5 
			 East Sussex 10  10 
			 Hampshire 20 10 25 
			 Kent 15 20 40 
			 Oxfordshire 10   
			 Surrey 15 25 35 
			 West Sussex 10 10 15 
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Bracknell Forest
			 Brighton and Hove 20 10  
			 Isle of Wight 0  0 
			 Medway Towns 5 25 5 
			 Milton Keynes 15  15 
			 Portsmouth 15 10 5 
			 Reading 0   
			 Slough 0 0  
			 Southampton 10 10 10 
			 West Berkshire 0  0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead
			 Wokingham 0  0 
			  South West 90 110 100 
			  Shire counties
			 Cornwall 15 15 15 
			 Devon 15 15  
			 Dorset 0   
			 Gloucestershire 10 5 5 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Somerset
			 Wiltshire  10  
			  Unitary authorities 0 0 0 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 0 0  
			 Bournemouth 15 10  
			 Bristol  15 25 
			 North Somerset 0 10  
			 Plymouth  5 15 
			 Poole 5  0 
			 South Gloucestershire 10 10  
			 Swindon
			 Torbay 0 0 5 
			 1 Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after in the year has been counted. 2 Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. 3 To maintain the confidentiality of each individual child, data at national level are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000, to the nearest 10 otherwise. At regional level, the data are rounded to the nearest 10 and at local authority level data are rounded to the nearest 5. Numbers from 1 to 5 inclusive are suppressed and replaced by a hyphen (). Zero (0) is shown only when the number submitted was zero. As a consequence of our rounding and suppression figures may not sum to the total.  Note: Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return which since 2003-04 covered all looked after children.

EU (Teaching in Schools)

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on the inclusion of teaching about  (a) the European Communities and  (b) EU policies in educational establishments; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Government recognise the importance of pupils gaining an understanding of the workings of the European Union and its history, and this is reflected in the national curriculum. In history, pupils are taught about the history of Britain in its European context. In citizenship, pupils learn about the world as a global community, the role of the European Union and the UK's relations in Europe, including the European Union. Teaching also reflects the underpinning values and principles of democratic life which are already covered in the European and United Nations human rights conventions.

EU (Teaching in Schools)

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the European Commission's recommendation for teaching about the EU in schools.

Jim Knight: The Government recognise the importance of pupils gaining an understanding of the workings of the EU and its history, and that is reflected in the national curriculum. Pupils are taught about the history of Britain in its European context in history and about the world as a global community, the role of the European Union and the UK's relations in Europe, including the European Union in Citizenship. Teaching also reflects the underpinning values and principles of democratic life which are already covered in the European and United Nation's human rights conventions. Although the EU can encourage co-operation between member states, the content and organisation of education systems is the responsibility of member states.

Exam Boards

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many examination boards have been approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to set  (a) GCSE,  (b) AS and  (c) A-level examinations for the academic year 2005-06.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) works jointly with the regulatory authorities in Wales and Northern Ireland to recognise organisations which have demonstrated that they have fulfilled the relevant regulations for offering GCSE and GCE A-level (AS and A2) qualifications.
	There are currently five organisations which are recognised by the regulatory authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as providers of GCSE, AS and A2 examinations. These are the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), Edexcel, Oxford Cambridge and RSA (OCR), the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) and the Council for Curriculum Education and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland.

Exam Entry Spending

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent by schools on  (a) GCSE,  (b) AS and  (c) A-level examination entries in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: It was only in 2002-03 that the Department began collecting information in sufficient detail to answer this question. Therefore no comparable data are available for previous years. The information in the following table covers the cost of test and examination entry fees and any accreditation costs related to pupils, and includes GCSEs, A/AS levels and GNVQs.
	
		
			  Academic year  Amount spent on examination entries ( million) 
			 2002-03 156 
			 2003-04 174 
			 2004-05 198 
		
	
	We announced in the FE White Paper Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances (paragraph 7.16) that the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority will lead a review of examination fees. The review will consider both the level of fees, and how a common format might be created for implementation by the start of the 2007/08 academic year.

Fire Risk Assessments

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many local authorities have carried out fire risk assessments in all their schools.

Jim Knight: The Department does not have this information. However, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires that fire risk assessments are carried out. With a school maintained by a local authority, the responsibility for ensuring that this happens is likely to be shared between the local authority, the governing body and the head teacher.

Fire Risk Assessments

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding has been made available to local authorities for the training of school staff in fire safety issues.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information. It is a matter for the discretion of local authorities and schools.

Foreign Language Study

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to promote the study of foreign languages in schools.

Jim Knight: To promote the study of foreign languages for learners of all ages, the Government published its national languages strategy: 'Languages for All: Languages for Lifea strategy for England' in December 2002. To oversee the implementation of the strategy, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills appointed Dr. Lid King as national director for languages in September 2003.
	In March 2005, the Secretary of State announced a 115 million Boost for Modern Foreign Languages, providing support for language teaching and learning until March 2008. For primary schools the funding will provide continuing support for initial and existing teacher training as well as training for support staff. To date we have trained over 2,000 new primary teachers with a specialism in languages. Last October we published, in hard copy and online, our 'Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages', which sets out learning objectives for the four years of key stage 2. It is supported by a national training programme, guidance and a planning tool.
	The funding will also support new approaches for teaching and learning for 11 to 18-year-olds, including alternative qualifications and vocational options at key stage 4 which will provide more flexibility for pupils in their studies. We are also funding a range of projects and materials to promote languages and to develop innovative curricular models which will be show-cased to provide schools with delivery ideas and support. For example, we funded CILT, the National Centre for Languages to produce 'Languages Work', a suite of materials designed to promote the value of language learning, support take-up of languages beyond key stage 3, and how language skills can enhance future employability.
	Our key stage 3 strategy continues to impact positively on pupils' attainment in languages, especially boys. We plan to provide additional key stage 3 strategy training for teachers in the next academic year.
	We have expanded the list of qualifications that count towards performance table scores to include more language qualifications. Most significantly, in September 2005 the new national, voluntary languages recognition scheme, the languages ladder, became available nationally. The scheme can be used by learners of all ages and is currently available in eight languages, including Mandarin Chinese. In September 2006, 13 other languages will be made available through the scheme. The scheme differs from existing approaches to assessment in that there are separate qualifications in each language for reading, writing, listening and speaking. To date over 800 centresincluding local authorities and specialist language collegeshave registered to take part in the scheme, with over 10,000 learners entered for qualifications across all sectors taking over 26,000 qualifications.
	To address the decline in take-up at key stage 4, my predecessor wrote to all secondary schools setting out her expectations that, from September 2006, 50-90 per cent. of a school's key stage 4 cohort should study a foreign language leading to a recognised qualification.

Further Education

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 18-year-olds in each constituency went on to further education in the last year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: 38.4 per cent. of 18-year-olds were estimated to be participating in full-time education in England at the end of 2005; 59.3 per cent. were participating in education and training. These are the latest available figures, published in the Statistical First Release Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16 to 18 Year Olds in England (SFR21/2006) on 8 June 2006. The SFR is available on the DfES website at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000658/index.shtml
	Percentage figures on participation in education by 18-year-olds are not available for parliamentary constituenciesfigures at local authority level in England are available, but for 16 and 17-year-olds only. The latest figures are for 2004, published in the Statistical First Release Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17 Year Olds in Each Local Area in England (SFR13/2006) on 30 March 2006. The SFR is available on the DfES website at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000645/index.shtml

Grandparents (Contact Orders)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to review guidance and secondary legislation in relation to the operation of section 8 of the Children Act 1989 in respect of the requirement for grandparents to seek leave to apply for a contact order from the family court for access to their grandchildren; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 12 June 2006
	During the House of Commons Third Reading of the Children and Adoption Bill on 20 June 2006, the Government undertook to review the current requirement, as it applies to grandparents without parental responsibility, that the leave of the court must be sought before they may apply for a contact order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. The review will consider if there is evidence that, where grandparents are denied contact with their grandchildren, they are unable to seek redress through the courts. I expect to publish the findings of the review by the end of 2006.

Head Teachers

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) women and  (b) people from ethnic minorities became (i) head teachers and (ii) deputy head teachers in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The table provides the number of female teachers promoted to head and deputy/assistant head teacher in each year from 1995-96 to 2002-03, the latest year for which information is available.
	Information on the number of teachers promoted to head and deputy head teacher by ethnic origin is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Full-time regular female teachers promoted to head and deputy/assistant head teacher, 1995-96 to 2002-03 
			   Promotions to: 
			   Head( 1)  Deputy( 2,3) 
			 1995-96 1,400 2,110 
			 1996-97 1,590 2,320 
			 1997-98 1,840 2,640 
			 1998-99 1,350 2,170 
			 1999-2000 1,510 2,100 
			 2000-01(4) 1,750 5,310 
			 2001-02(4) 1,490 3,500 
			 2002-03(4) 1,350 3,430 
			 (1) Includes promotions from qualified classroom teacher grades, deputy head and, from 2001 onwards, assistant head. (2) Includes promotions from qualified classroom teacher grades. (3) Includes promotions to assistant head from 2000-01 onwards. The assistant head grade was introduced in 2000-01 and this affects comparison with earlier years. (4) Provisional estimates subject to future revision.  Source: Database of Teacher Records.

Juvenile Sleep

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place in the Library  (a) copies of advice his Department gives to parents of (i) primary and (ii) secondary school pupils on the recommended daily amounts of sleep required and  (b) research his Department has (A) undertaken and (B) plans to undertake into sleep and young people; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department has not issued guidance to parents of primary or secondary school pupils on the recommended daily amounts of sleep required. The Department has not commissioned any research into sleep and young people. There are no current plans to undertake research in this area.

Juvenile Sleep

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information he has collated on the number of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school pupils who (i) fell asleep in class and (ii) arrived late in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not collected centrally.

National Curriculum

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his policy on  (a) the teaching of religious studies and  (b) teaching about (i) Islam and (ii) atheism within the national curriculum.

Jim Knight: All maintained schools must provide religious education (RE) which must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian while taking account of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. This could include Islam. Religious education syllabuses for maintained schools without a religious designation are drawn up by an agreed syllabus conference which advises the local education authority. These bodies represent faith groups, teachers and local schools. For schools with a religious designation the syllabus is drawn up by the governing body according to the trust deed of the school. It is for local authorities, advised by agreed syllabus conferences, and individual faith schools to decide if study of atheism is included as part of the RE syllabus.
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), in partnership with the Department, launched a new non-statutory national framework for religious education in 2004. The framework provides for opportunities for pupils to study all of the principal religions in Great Britain, including Islam, and other religious traditions and secular philosophies in line with the Government's goals of inclusion, tolerance and diversity. All of the major UK faith and belief communities and professional groups were involved in its development.

National Curriculum

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on the teaching of  (a) modern (i) East European, (ii) West European, (iii) Asian and (iv) African and  (b) ancient languages within the national curriculum.

Alan Johnson: To promote the study of foreign languages for learners of all ages, the Government published their National Languages Strategy: Languages for All: Languages for Lifea Strategy for England in December 2002. The cornerstone of the strategy is that by 2010 all Key Stage 2 pupils will have the opportunity to study a foreign language in class time. It is for individual schools to decide which languages they offer depending on their expertise and access to resources and support.
	At Key Stages 3 and 4, secondary schools must give access to at least one course in an official working language of the European Union that leads to an approved qualification. The official working languages of the European Union, for which there are approved qualifications, are: Danish, Dutch, French, German, Modern Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Once this offer has been made schools may then decide to offer additional languages. Approved qualifications are available in a wide range of languages in the categories raised in the question.
	Ancient languages do not form part of the national curriculum. It is for individual schools and their governing bodies to decide whether to include the classicsincluding classical languagesin their respective curriculum. Their decision may depend on demand for the subject, having a specialist classics teacher available to teach it, and in meeting the needs of their pupils.
	As part of our Specialist Schools Programme, secondary schools can apply to become humanities colleges. As part of this specialism, schools have the option to focus on the teaching and learning of classical studies (that is, Latin, Classical Greek and classical civilisation) alongside a core humanities option of History, Geography or English.
	In 2005 the Department launched the Languages Ladderthe national, voluntary recognition scheme for languagesas an alternative qualification route to complement existing qualifications. The Languages Ladder endorses achievement in language skills at all levels of competence for all ages. It is available currently in eight languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Panjabi, Spanish and Urdu. A further 13 languages, in the first three stages of the scheme, will be added in September this year and will include: Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Modern Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish and Yoruba.

National Curriculum

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his policy on the teaching of sciences in the national curriculum.

Jim Knight: Science is a compulsory subject at all key stages in the national curriculum and the aspects that must be taught are defined by a programme of study.
	We have recently made changes to the Key Stage 4 programme of study to make it more engaging and exciting for pupils while maintaining the depth, breadth and challenge of the existing curriculum.
	From September 2008, we will be introducing a new statutory entitlement for all Key Stage 4 students to study science programmes leading to at least two GCSEs.

Positive Parenting

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on the promotion of positive parenting in the last period for which figures are available; and what this figure represents per child in England.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Parenting Fund provided 10.7 million to support 132 projects during the last period2005-06.
	The Parenting Fund supports voluntary and community sector organisations that provide a range of information, advice and guidanceincluding the promotion of positive parenting, to parents when and if they need it. The fund is not allocated on a per child basis. It would therefore be misleading to provide a general population, per child figure for parenting spend.

Pupil Numbers

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local authorities had an increase in the number of schoolchildren in  (a) key stage 1 and  (b) key stage 2 between 2001 and 2005.

Jim Knight: The available information has been placed in the House Library.
	This shows that nine local authorities have reported an increase in the number of pupils in the key stage 1 age group between 2001 and 2005; and over the same period, 13 local authorities have reported an increase in the number of pupils in the key stage 2 age group.
	Since 2001 the overall population of five to 10-year-olds has fallen.

School Attendance (Lancashire)

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the truancy rates were for Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold data on pupils recorded as truant. However, the figures for the proportion of half days missed due to unauthorised absence (of which truancy forms a part) in maintained mainstream schools in Lancashire local authority are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage of half days missed in maintained mainstream schools( 1)  in Lancashire local authority due to unauthorised absence( 2,3) 
			   Primary schools  Secondary schools 
			 1997/98 0.3 0.8 
			 1998/99 0.4 0.9 
			 1999/2000 0.4 0.8 
			 2000/01 0.3 0.8 
			 2001/02 0.34 0.82 
			 2002/03 0.31 0.82 
			 2003/04 0.32 0.88 
			 2004/05 0.3 0.9 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Due to local government reorganisation, regional figures are not available prior to 1998. (3) Local authority figures are only available to 1 decimal place prior to 2000. 
		
	
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

School Exclusions

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many excluded pupils there have been in Lancashire county council region in each year since 1997, broken down by age.

Jim Knight: The requested information is given in the following table.
	There are known quality issues with exclusions data for 2000/01 and later and these are explained in footnote 5 of the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and all special schools( 1,2) : number of permanently excluded pupils by age1997/98 to 2003/04 Lancashire local authority area 
			   Primary, secondary and special schools 
			  Pupils aged  1997/98( 3)  1998/99( 4)  1999/00( 4)  2000/01( 4,5)  2001/02( 4,5)  2002/03( 4,5)  2003/04( 4,5)  2004/05( 4,5) 
			 4  (6)(6) (6) (6) 
			 5 (6) (6)   (6) (6) (6) (6) 
			 6   (6) 5 (6) (6) (6) (6) 
			 7 4 3 (6) 3 5 (6) 3 (6) 
			 8 8 (6) (6) 4 8 5 5  
			 9 9 12 6 7 11 9 7 7 
			 10 20 13 9 15 13 10 13 10 
			 11 12 13 9 15 17 33 26 13 
			 12 38 24 20 45 33 59 40 55 
			 13 59 47 35 56 69 66 74 51 
			 14 82 82 56 74 84 97 91 77 
			 15 65 45 26 28 33 26 47 33 
			 16 (6) (6)   (6)  (6) (6) 
			 17(6) 
			 18   (6)  
			 19 and over 
			 Total (as reported in the ASC)(5) 301 244 167 252 278 311 312 254 
			 Total as confirmed by local authorities(5) n/a n/a n/a 250 299 344 332 273 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) Before local government reorganisation (4) After local government reorganisation (5) For these years schools are known to have under-reported the number of permanent exclusions. The Department carried out a checking exercise but this confirmed only the overall number of permanent exclusions in each authority. The numbers of excluded pupils by age are based on incomplete data as reported by schools and should be used with caution. (6 )1 or 2 pupils.  Source: Schools' Census

School Exclusions

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what education provision has been made for excluded pupils in Lancashire.

Jim Knight: Education for pupils who have been excluded from schools in Lancashire local authority is provided mainly via pupil referral units (PRUs). The local authority has five PRUs for primary age pupils and eight for secondary age pupils, catering for over 500 pupils. Other forms of alternative educational provision for excluded pupils are commissioned through these PRUs and include placements in further education colleges, extended work placements and provision available in the private and voluntary sector.

School Exclusions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in  (a) England and  (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire have been reinstated into schools by the Independent Appeals Panel after being permanently excluded in each of the last nine years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The number of successful appeals against permanent exclusion where reinstatement was directed is only available from 2002/03 onwards. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools: exclusion appeals 2002/03 to 2004/05 
			   East Riding of Yorkshire local authority area  England( 1) 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 Number of appeals heard 4 9 10 990 1,050 1,030 
			 Number of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil (2) (2) 4 210 220 220 
			 Percentage of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil(3) (2) (2) 40.0 21.1 21.2 21.5 
			 Number of successful appeals where reinstatement was directed (2) 0 (2) 150 130 110 
			 Percentage of successful appeals where reinstatement was directed(4) (2) 0.0 (2) 71.3 57.0 49.1 
			 (1) Figures for England have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2) 1 or 2 appeals, or a rate based on 1 or 2 appeals. (3) Shown as a percentage of appeals heard. (4) Shown as a percentage of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil.  Source: School Exclusion Appeal Survey 
		
	
	These figures show that head teachers' judgments on exclusions are not being routinely overturned by appeal panels. There has been a reduction for the third year in a row in the number of pupils reinstated to their former school on appeal.

School Meals

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of primary school pupils  (a) were eligible for free school meals and  (b) took them up in each local education authority in the last year for which figures are available, listed in ascending order of percentage; and what the equivalent figures were in 1997.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools: number and percentage of pupils by school meal arrangements. Position in January each year: 1997 and 2006 (provisional). By local authority area. (In ascending order of the percentage of pupils who were known to be eligible for free school meals as at January 2006) 
			1997 
			Number of day pupils( 1)  Number of pupils taking a free school meal on the Census Day  Percentage of pupils taking a free school meal on the Census Day( 2)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3) 
			  England(5) 4,428,620 771,780 17.4 938,540 21.2 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 160 17 10.6 19 11.9 
			 857 Rutland(6)  
			 872 Wokingham(6)  
			 836 Poole(6)  
			 825 Buckinghamshire(6)  
			 835 Dorset(6)  
			 938 West Sussex 58,168 5,941 10.2 7,496 12.9 
			 925 Lincolnshire 53,619 3,830 7.1 4,597 8.6 
			 867 Bracknell Forest(6)  
			 865 Wiltshire(6)  
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 11,530 717 6.2 856 7.4 
			 855 Leicestershire(6)  
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead(6)  
			 869 West Berkshire(6)  
			 936 Surrey 78,690 6,637 8.4 7,871 10.0 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 22,571 2,259 10.0 2,745 12.2 
			 815 North Yorkshire 47,927 4,435 9.3 5,110 10.7 
			 933 Somerset 38,509 3,855 10.0 4,624 12.0 
			 919 Hertfordshire 92,397 9,452 10.2 11,259 12.2 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 27,126 2,546 9.4 3,158 11.6 
			 884 Herefordshire(6)  
			 873 Cambridgeshire(6)  
			 885 Worcestershire(6)  
			 850 Hampshire(6)  
			 866 Swindon(6)  
			 893 Shropshire(6)  
			 931 Oxfordshire 44,733 4,012 9.0 5,008 11.2 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 12,074 1,188 9.8 1,611 13.3 
			 877 Warrington(6)  
			 928 Northamptonshire 54,701 4,940 9.0 6,384 11.7 
			 916 Gloucestershire 46,248 4,929 10.7 6,151 13.3 
			 937 Warwickshire 43,662 4,736 10.8 5,553 12.7 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 13,111 1,677 12.8 2,027 15.5 
			 816 York 14,905 1,859 12.5 2,250 15.1 
			 878 Devon(6)  
			 860 Staffordshire(6)  
			 881 Essex(6)  
			 303 Bexley 22,223 3,007 13.5 3,637 16.4 
			 802 North Somerset 14,775 1,777 12.0 2,090 14.1 
			 935 Suffolk 47,239 5,982 12.7 7,554 16.0 
			 820 Bedfordshire(6)  
			 875 Cheshire(6)  
			 358 Trafford 21,462 3,399 15.8 4,009 18.7 
			 908 Cornwall 41,862 6,547 15.6 7,784 18.6 
			 356 Stockport 26,941 3,846 14.3 4,661 17.3 
			 886 Kent(6)  
			 887 Medway(6)  
			 311 Havering 21,001 2,459 11.7 3,088 14.7 
			 334 Solihull 21,581 2,770 12.8 3,238 15.0 
			 891 Nottinghamshire(6)  
			 845 East Sussex(6)  
			 305 Bromley 24,292 3,282 13.5 4,352 17.9 
			 830 Derbyshire(6)  
			 315 Merton 16,159 2,471 15.3 3,099 19.2 
			 929 Northumberland 21,839 3,345 15.3 3,783 17.3 
			 826 Milton Keynes(6)  
			 837 Bournemouth(6)  
			 909 Cumbria 44,762 6,917 15.5 7,904 17.7 
			 319 Sutton 14,630 1,778 12.2 2,070 14.1 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 14,972 2,485 16.6 2,879 19.2 
			 883 Thurrock(6)  
			 926 Norfolk 66.666 8,913 13.4 10,824 16.2 
			 351 Bury 18,095 2,769 15.3 3,319 18.3 
			 888 Lancashire(6)  
			 381 Calderdale 20,605 3,478 16.9 4,109 19.9 
			 332 Dudley 30,884 4,394 14.2 5,544 18.0 
			 359 Wigan 30,276 4,838 16.0 5,623 18.6 
			 343 Sefton 28,115 5,465 19.4 7,171 25.5 
			 384 Wakefield 32,956 5,546 16.8 6,572 19.9 
			 382 Kirklees 38,649 7,285 18.8 8,908 23.0 
			 350 Bolton 28,512 5,495 19.3 6,151 21.6 
			 851 Portsmouth(6)  
			 310 Harrow 19,971 1,643 8.2 2,265 11.3 
			 392 North Tyneside 17,027 3,485 20.5 4,184 24.6 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 28,446 6,1 16 21.6 8,017 28.2 
			 870 Reading(6)  
			 846 Brighton and Hove(6)  
			 880 Torbay(6)  
			 871 Slough(6)  
			 372 Rotherham 25,822 5,283 20.5 6,298 24.4 
			 879 Plymouth(6)  
			 357 Tameside 23,830 5,001 21.0 5,703 23.9 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 20,531 4,413 21.5 5,206 25.4 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea(6)  
			 370 Barnsley 22,216 4,765 21.4 5,910 26.6 
			 373 Sheffield 46,380 9,686 20.9 12,895 27.8 
			 312 Hillingdon 22,440 2,017 9.0 2,745 12.2 
			 874 Peterborough(6)  
			 317 Redbridge 21,103 3,204 15.2 4,036 19.1 
			 371 Doncaster 31,343 7,198 23.0 8,280 26.4 
			 921 Isle of Wight 7,387 1,424 19.3 1,767 23.9 
			 383 Leeds 71,508 12,795 17.9 15,974 22.3 
			 841 Darlington(6)  
			 840 Durham(6)  
			 894 Telford and Wrekin(6)  
			 831 Derby(6)  
			 342 St. Helens 18,027 3,733 20.7 4,275 23.7 
			 302 Barnet 25,979 3,711 14.3 4,625 17.8 
			 336 Wolverhampton 26,293 5,282 20.1 6,644 25.3 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 17,265 3,756 21.8 4,211 24.4 
			 335 Walsall 28,743 5,896 20.5 7,081 24.6 
			 331 Coventry 30,478 5,482 18.0 6,726 22.1 
			 380 Bradford 42,327 8,656 20.5 10,661 25.2 
			 394 Sunderland 30,149 7,235 24.0 8,984 29.8 
			 333 Sandwell 32,962 7,061 21.4 8,870 26.9 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 16,680 4,152 24.9 4,817 28.9 
			 390 Gateshead 18,566 4,231 22.8 4,995 26.9 
			 353 Oldham 25,111 5,618 22.4 6,747 26.9 
			 805 Hartlepool 10,538 2,732 25.9 3,205 30.4 
			 306 Croydon 30,432 6,379 21.0 7,800 25.6 
			 852 Southampton(6)  
			 801 Bristol, City of 33,642 7,602 22.6 9,103 27.1 
			 313 Hounslow 19,828 4,049 20.4 5,137 25.9 
			 890 Blackpool(6)  
			 876 Halton(6)  
			 821 Luton(6)  
			 856 Leicester(6)  
			 354 Rochdale 22,354 5,373 24.0 6,470 28.9 
			 201 City of London 208 83 39.9 107 51.4 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 17,883 3,873 21.7 4,712 26.3 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen(6)  
			 307 Ealing 27,213 5,591 20.5 6,927 25.5 
			 320 Waltham Forest 21,411 5,387 25.2 6,715 31.4 
			 308 Enfield 26,028 4,695 18.0 5,620 21.6 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent(6)  
			 344 Wirral 31.875 8,217 25.8 9,632 30.2 
			 393 South Tyneside 16,175 4,818 29.8 5,693 35.2 
			 304 Brent 22,478 5,696 25.3 6,420 28.6 
			 892 Nottingham(6)  
			 212 Wandsworth 17,874 5,175 29.0 6,305 35.3 
			 209 Lewisham 21,984 6,370 29.0 8,052 36.6 
			 806 Middlesbrough 17,267 4,876 28.2 5,718 33.1 
			 355 Salford 23,828 7,019 29.5 8,128 34.1 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 22,220 7,259 32.7 8,552 38.5 
			 340 Knowsley 19,788 6,915 34.9 8,701 44.0 
			 341 Liverpool 49,345 16,852 34.2 20,283 41.1 
			 309 Haringey 21,610 7,096 32.8 8,279 38.3 
			 203 Greenwich 21,608 6,804 31.5 8,408 38.9 
			 316 Newham 28,543 8,487 29.7 11,094 38.9 
			 330 Birmingham 109,673 32,572 29.7 39,245 35.8 
			 210 Southwark 23,132 8,606 37.2 10,744 46.4 
			 213 Westminster 9,604 3,413 35.5 4,247 44.2 
			 208 Lambeth 19,193 7,309 38.1 8.695 45.3 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 6,568 2,324 35.4 3,000 45.7 
			 204 Hackney 18,141 8,046 44.4 9,824 54.2 
			 352 Manchester 46,356 17,956 38.7 21,431 46.2 
			 206 Islington 16,232 6,66)3 41.0 8,049 49.6 
			 202 Camden 11,294 4,130 36.6 5,046 44.7 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 9,465 3,763 39.8 4,440 46.9 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 22,472 10,211 45.4 13,292 59.1 
			 902 Bedfordshire 44,748 7,484 16.7 9,187 20.5 
			 903 Berkshire 64,851 6,828 10.5 8,047 12.4 
			 904 Buckinghamshire 66,291 4,227 6.4 5,641 8.5 
			 905 Cambridgeshire 60,924 7,840 12.9 9,945 16.3 
			 906 Cheshire 92,727 14,177 15.3 16,155 17.4 
			 910 Derbyshire 89,462 13,507 15.1 15,468 17.3 
			 911 Devon 84,938 13,450 15.8 16,027 18.9 
			 912 Dorset 48,479 4,117 8.5 4,684 9.7 
			 913 Durham 57,442 11,478 20.0 13,105 22.8 
			 914 East Sussex 55,821 8,804 15.8 11,372 20.4 
			 915 Essex 136,385 18,654 13.7 23,090 16.9 
			 917 Hampshire 139.425 17,054 12.2 20.493 14.7 
			 918 Hereford and Worcester 52,887 4,304 8.1 5,077 9.6 
			 922 Kent 137,962 19,946 14.5 24,746 17.9 
			 923 Lancashire 135,058 24,719 18.3 31,679 23.5 
			 924 Leicestershire 83,027 11,251 13.6 13,623 16.4 
			 930 Nottinghamshire 96,403 17,975 18.6 22,789 23.6 
			 932 Shropshire 38,067 5,442 14.3 6,169 16.2 
			 934 Staffordshire 96,437 15,286 15.9 18,213 18.9 
			 939 Wiltshire 51,809 5,723 11.0 6,954 13.4 
		
	
	
		
			2006( 7) 
			Number of pupils on roll( 4)  Number of pupils taking a free school meal on Census Day  Percentage of pupils taking a free school meal on the Census Day( 2)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3) 
			  England(5) 4,151,970 553,560 13.3 667,180 16.1 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 252 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 857 Rutland(6) 2,521 94 3.7 108 4.3 
			 872 Wokingham(6) 12,164 419 3.4 555 4.6 
			 836 Poole(6) 10,338 459 4.4 485 4.7 
			 825 Buckinghamshire(6) 39,646 1,370 3.5 1,938 4.9 
			 835 Dorset(6) 24,747 1,006 4.1 1,203 4.9 
			 938 West Sussex 57,554 2,433 4.2 3,081 5.4 
			 925 Lincolnshire 52,805 2,379 4.5 2,924 5.5 
			 867 Bracknell Forest(6) 8,811 426 4.8 601 6.8 
			 865 Wiltshire(6) 35,512 2,074 5.8 2,460 6.9 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 11,638 712 6.1 816 7.0 
			 855 Leicestershire(6) 48,257 2,756 5.7 3,374 7.0 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead(6) 8,470 451 5.3 617 7.3 
			 869 West Berkshire(6) 12,045 713 5.9 896 7.4 
			 936 Surrey 78,463 4,868 6.2 5,921 7.5 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 22,228 1,300 5.8 1,680 7.6 
			 815 North Yorkshire 44,563 2,858 6.4 3,460 7.8 
			 933 Somerset 36,781 2,425 6.6 2,946 8.0 
			 919 Hertfordshire 92,173 6,126 6.6 7,455 8.1 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 25,694 1.649 6.4 2,142 8.3 
			 884 Herefordshire(6) 12,985 890 6.9 1,082 8.3 
			 873 Cambridgeshire(6) 43,878 3,037 6.9 3,673 8.4 
			 885 Worcestershire(6) 38,329 2,807 7.3 3,248 8.5 
			 850 Hampshire(6) 97,202 6,495 6.7 8,347 8.6 
			 866 Swindon(6) 16,906 1,180 7.0 1,494 8.8 
			 893 Shropshire(6) 21,896 1,673 7.6 1,943 8.9 
			 931 Oxfordshire 46,437 3,117 6.7 4,183 9.0 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 12,948 955 7.4 1,178 9.1 
			 877 Warrington(6) 17,389 1,344 7.7 1,600 9.2 
			 928 Northamptonshire 56,463 4,038 7.2 5,260 9.3 
			 916 Gloucestershire 43,458 3,561 8.2 4,131 9.5 
			 937 Warwickshire 40,986 3,296 8.0 3,989 9.7 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 12,172 985 8.1 1,201 9.9 
			 816 York 13,443 1,097 8.2 1,338 10.0 
			 878 Devon(6) 53,189 4,109 7.7 5,295 10.0 
			 860 Staffordshire(6) 63,925 5,396 8.4 6,465 10.1 
			 881 Essex(6) 107,125 9,430 8.8 10,801 10.1 
			 303 Bexley 20,689 1,640 7.9 2,100 10.2 
			 802 North Somerset 14,897 1,205 8.1 1,514 10.2 
			 935 Suffolk 45,739 3,693 8.1 4,695 10.3 
			 820 Bedfordshire(6) 24,938 2,188 8.8 2,604 10.4 
			 875 Cheshire(6) 54,527 4,974 9.1 5,707 10.5 
			 358 Trafford 19,224 1,830 9.5 2,038 10.6 
			 908 Cornwall 39,150 3,695 9.4 4,303 11.0 
			 356 Stockport 23,415 2,219 9.5 2,653 11.3 
			 886 Kent(6) 110,266 10,448 9.5 12,458 11.3 
			 887 Medway(6) 22,472 2,175 9.7 2,535 11.3 
			 311 Havering 19,402 1,618 8.3 2,217 11.4 
			 334 Solihull 19,897 1,681 8.4 2,274 11.4 
			 891 Nottinghamshire(6) 63,381 5,676 9.0 7,291 11.5 
			 845 East Sussex(6) 36,289 3,491 9.6 4,232 11.7 
			 305 Bromley 23,928 2,364 9.9 2.861 12.0 
			 830 Derbyshire(6) 62,369 6,312 10.1 7,501 12.0 
			 315 Merton 14,980 1,437 9.6 1,811 12.1 
			 929 Northumberland 19,358 2,140 11.1 2,343 12.1 
			 826 Milton Keynes(6) 20,989 1,948 9.3 2,606 12.4 
			 837 Bournemouth(6) 10,525 1,054 10.0 1,321 12.6 
			 909 Cumbria 39,741 4,457 11.2 5,066 12.7 
			 319 Sutton 14,800 1,547 10.5 1,916 12.9 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 13,986 1,602 11.5 1,828 13.1 
			 883 Thurrock(6) 13,812 1,432 10.4 1,854 13.4 
			 926 Norfolk 65,134 7,060 10.8 8,763 13.5 
			 351 Bury 15,995 1,899 11.9 2,186 13.7 
			 888 Lancashire(6) 93,269 11,351 12.2 12,951 13.9 
			 381 Calderdale 18,661 2,363 12.7 2,699 14.5 
			 332 Dudley 28,281 3,386 12.0 4,271 15.1 
			 359 Wigan 26,162 3,303 12.6 4,076 15.6 
			 343 Sefton 23,307 2,865 12.3 3,717 15.9 
			 384 Wakefield 28,722 3,569 12.4 4,571 15.9 
			 382 Kirklees 35,811 4,843 13.5 5,738 16.0 
			 350 Bolton 25,438 3,743 14.7 4,099 16.1 
			 851 Portsmouth(6) 14,071 1,775 12.6 2,299 16.3 
			 310 Harrow 19,593 2,917 14.9 3,211 16.4 
			 392 North Tyneside 16,171 2,301 14.2 2,653 16.4 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 22,033 3,081 14.0 3,620 16.4 
			 870 Reading(6) 10,223 1,424 13.9 1,678 16.4 
			 846 Brighton and Hove(6) 17,080 2,186 12.8 2,818 16.5 
			 880 Torbay(6) 9,836 1,312 13.3 1,625 16.5 
			 871 Slough(6) 11,554 1,558 13.5 1,917 16.6 
			 372 Rotherham 23,690 3,251 13.7 4,010 16.9 
			 879 Plymouth(6) 19,274 2,696 14.0 3,253 16.9 
			 357 Tameside 20,088 3,027 15.1 3,417 17.0 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 17,269 2,682 15.5 2,947 17.1 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea(6) 14,152 1,896 13.4 2,450 17.3 
			 370 Barnsley 20,433 2,936 14.4 3,556 17.4 
			 373 Sheffield 42,561 6,157 14.5 7,435 17.5 
			 312 Hillingdon 24,099 3,249 13.5 4,235 17.6 
			 874 Peterborough(6) 15,274 2,386 15.6 2,684 17.6 
			 317 Redbridge 24,124 3,268 13.5 4,263 17.7 
			 371 Doncaster 27,165 4,180 15.4 4,809 17.7 
			 921 Isle of Wight 6,995 994 14.2 1,244 17.8 
			 383 Leeds 61,446 9,009 14.7 11,247 18.3 
			 841 Darlington(6) 8,848 1,393 15.7 1,639 18.5 
			 840 Durham(6) 41,360 6,451 15.6 7,751 18.7 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin(6) 15,160 2,350 15.5 2,828 18.7 
			 831 Derby(6) 21,605 3,396 15.7 4,089 18.9 
			 342 St. Helens 15,575 2,432 15.6 3,021 19.4 
			 302 Barnet 26,041 4,225 16.2 5,087 19.5 
			 336 Wolverhampton 22,709 3,631 16.0 4,418 19.5 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 14,029 2,074 14.8 2,788 19.9 
			 335 Walsall 26,077 3,964 15.2 5,216 20.0 
			 331 Coventry 27,015 4,455 16.5 5,430 20.1 
			 380 Bradford 51,314 8,485 16.5 10,331 20.1 
			 394 Sunderland 24,273 4,377 18.0 4,919 20.3 
			 333 Sandwell 29,887 4,950 16.6 6,128 20.5 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 13,242 2,456 18.5 2,709 20.5 
			 390 Gateshead 16,205 2,901 17.9 3,399 21.0 
			 353 Oldham 23,302 4,274 18.3 4,910 21.1 
			 805 Hartlepool 9,195 1,802 19.6 1,948 21.2 
			 306 Croydon 29,389 4,919 16.7 6,301 21.4 
			 852 Southampton(6) 16,039 2,737 17.1 3,437 21.4 
			 801 Bristol, City of 29,374 5,282 18.0 6,373 21.7 
			 313 Hounslow 18,924 3,505 18.5 4,116 21.8 
			 890 Blackpool(6) 11,812 2,111 17.9 2,635 22.3 
			 876 Halton(6) 10,170 1,978 19.4 2,277 22.4 
			 821 Luton(6) 18,468 3,645 19.7 4.228 22.9 
			 856 Leicester(6) 28,260 5,732 20.3 6,620 23.4 
			 354 Rochdale 19,595 3,797 19.4 4,642 23.7 
			 201 City of London 231 49 21.2 55 23.8 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 18,485 3,762 20.4 4,432 24.0 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen(6) 14,770 2,986 20.2 3,548 24.0 
			 307 Ealing 26,059 5,101 19.6 6,276 24.1 
			 320 Waltham Forest 21,753 4,408 20.3 5,350 24.6 
			 308 Enfield 27,198 5,712 21.0 6,727 24.7 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent(6) 20,841 4,535 21.8 5,173 24.8 
			 344 Wirral 26,456 5,384 20.4 6,682 25.3 
			 393 South Tyneside 12,751 2,799 22.0 3,222 25.3 
			 304 Brent 23,128 5,454 23.6 6.238 27.0 
			 892 Nottingham(6) 23,537 5,327 22.6 6,356 27.0 
			 212 Wandsworth 17,412 4,244 24.4 4,741 27.2 
			 209 Lewisham 21,971 4,579 20.8 6.121 27.9 
			 806 Middlesbrough 13,926 3,397 24.4 3,889 27.9 
			 355 Salford 19,464 4,944 25.4 5,532 28.4 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 19.694 4,995 25.4 5,630 28.6 
			 340 Knowsley 15,518 3,586 23.1 4,538 29.2 
			 341 Liverpool 38,211 10,018 26.2 12,320 32.2 
			 309 Haringey 21,964 6,127 27.9 7,189 32.7 
			 203 Greenwich 21,206 5,484 25.9 7,070 33.3 
			 316 Newham 30,544 8,617 28.2 10,164 33.3 
			 330 Birmingham 101,191 28,241 27.9 33,745 33.3 
			 210 Southwark 22,848 6,482 28.4 7,896 34.6 
			 213 Westminster 11,021 3,662 33.2 4,028 36.5 
			 208 Lambeth 20,096 6,402 31.9 7,492 37.3 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 7,052 2,309 32.7 2,713 38.5 
			 204 Hackney 18,051 6,002 33.3 7,038 39.0 
			 352 Manchester 40,814 14,037 34.4 16,848 41.3 
			 206 Islington 14,292 5,031 35.2 6,016 42.1 
			 202 Camden 11,436 3,807 33.3 4,888 42.7 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 9,707 3,687 38.0 4,163 42.9 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 22,397 9,651 43.1 11,798 52.7 
			 902 Bedfordshire  
			 903 Berkshire  
			 904 Buckinghamshire  
			 905 Cambridgeshire  
			 906 Cheshire  
			 910 Derbyshire  
			 911 Devon  
			 912 Dorset  
			 913 Durham  
			 914 East Sussex  
			 915 Essex  
			 917 Hampshire  
			 918 Hereford and Worcester  
			 922 Kent  
			 923 Lancashire  
			 924 Leicestershire  
			 930 Nottinghamshire  
			 932 Shropshire  
			 934 Staffordshire  
			 939 Wiltshire  
			 (1) Includes dually registered pupils. Excludes boarding pupils. (2) The number of pupils taking a free school meal on the Census Day expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils on roll. (3) The number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils on roll. (4) Includes dually registered pupils. Includes boarding pupils. (5) National totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. (6) Before Local Government Reorganisation. (7) Provisional.  Source: Schools' Census

School Meals

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2005,  Official Report, column 698W, on school meals, when he expects to decide how best to capture information about school meals provision; and what information about school meals provision is collected by his Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has commissioned research to assess compliance with statutory National Nutritional Standards and to measure food consumption in maintained schools in England. A study of 'School Meals in Secondary Schools in England' reported in 2004 (DfES Research Report 557). A similar 'Study of School Meals in Primary Schools in England' has been conducted, and reported on 29 June 2006 (DfES Research Report 753).
	The Annual Schools Census collects data on free school meal eligibility and take up. An internal DfES survey of local authorities (LA) was conducted in November 2005 to assess the nature of school meal provision and providers, the patter of commercial provision and contractual arrangements.
	The Department has asked the School Food Trust (SFT) as part of its remit to monitor progress on school meals and report regularly to the Department. The SFT plans to collect information about school meals provision using several approaches. First, they are working with Ofsted and the national Healthy Schools Programme to develop a way of assessing whether or not the new DfES standards for school meals are being met. The intention is for this to be completed by early 2007. Second, they plan to undertake national sample surveys of primary and secondary schools' food provision and consumption, similar to the two studies commissioned by the Department. These provide baseline information against which the change in the national profile of provision and consumption of foods in school meals can be evaluated. The timing and scale of the national sample surveys will be confirmed by the end of August 2006. Finally, the SFT has just completed a survey addressed to all local authority catering providers in England to assess school meal take-up, the costs of providing a school meal, factors believed to be associated with increases or decreases in take-up, and perceived barriers to change. The survey will be published in July 2006 and repeated annually at the end of each financial year.

School Principals

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of how many hours a week on average  (a) head and  (b) deputy head teachers worked in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the average number of hours worked by head, deputy and assistant head teachers in primary and secondary schools in a week in March 2005. This is the latest information available.
	
		
			   Average hours 
			  Primary  
			 Head teachers 52.9 
			 Deputy/assistant heads 55.7 
			   
			  Secondary  
			 Head teachers 62.6 
			 Deputy/assistant 58.1 
			  Source: Teachers' Workload Diary Survey, March 2005, School Teachers' Review Body.

School Sports Facilities

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what procedures his Department has put in place to improve the link between community leisure needs and the opportunities for community use of sports facilities provided under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: The Building Schools for the Future programme adopts an area approach to transforming secondary provision. For each phase of the programme, local authorities are required to develop an educational vision in line with our guidance, which takes into account a range of policy areas, including PE and sport facilities, and community use. Our Building Schools for the Future guidance to local authorities covers the preparation of educational visions, joining-up all potential sources of funding and the design of school buildings and facilities. This Department is also represented in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Sports Facilities Infrastructure Programme.

Schools Commissioner

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many candidates applied for the post of Schools Commissioner; how many were invited to the final selection panel interview; and who the members of the selection panel are;
	(2)  when he will appoint the Schools Commissioner;
	(3)  what performance objectives will be used to determine the bonus paid to the Schools Commissioner.

Jim Knight: 21 candidates applied for the post of Schools Commissioner and three were invited to the final selection panel.
	The panel members are:
	Mary-Jo Jacobi, Civil Service Commissioner (Chair)
	David Bell, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education and Skills
	Ralph Jabberer, Director General for Schools, Department for Education and Skills
	Dr. Philip Hunter, Chief School Adjudicator.
	The outcome of the competition will be announced as soon as possible after the selection process has been completed and is likely to be during July 2006. A performance agreement, including business objectives, will be put in place with the Schools Commissioner when they take up post. This will be the basis on which any bonus award is assessed.

Special Advisers

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role is played by special advisers in answering parliamentary questions asked of his Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 27 June 2006
	Special advisers conduct themselves in accordance with the requirements of the 'Code of Conduct for Special Advisers'.

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many working days were lost to his Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated total cost to his Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Department/calendar year  Days lost per staff year  Estimated cost of absence ( million) 
			  Education and Skills   
			 2004 9.0 3.3 
			 2003 10.3 4.4 
			 2002 9.8 3.8 
			 2001 8.4 3.3 
			
			  Education and Employment   
			 2000 7.7 2.9 
			
			  Employment Service Agency   
			 2000 11.8 29.3 
			
			  Education and Employment   
			 1999 7.6 2.6 
			
			  Employment Service Agency   
			 1999 11.5 27.4 
			
			  Education and Employment   
			 1998 8.2 2.7 
			
			  Employment Service Agency   
			 1998 11.0 24.8 
		
	
	The data are taken from the report Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service, which Cabinet Office publishes annually. The information in the Days lost per staff year column is quoted directly from the reports; the Estimated cost of absence is based on the average basic salary used in each report.
	For the years 1998 to 2003, data for the Department for Education and Skills and the former Department for Education and Employment included staff in the Government Office network. In the 2004 report Government Offices is shown as a separate Department.

Student Finance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many individual student loan accounts were passed to debt collection agencies from the Student Loans Company in each financial year from 1997-98 to 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The table shows the number of pre-1998 mortgage-style student loan accounts with debt collection agencies, as at 31 March of each year. Data for 1997/08 are not available.
	
		
			  Referrals with debt collection agents at 31 MarchEngland and Wales 
			   Number 
			 1999 13,586 
			 2000 17,423 
			 2001 19,244 
			 2002 13,005 
			 2003 11,100 
			 2004 15,955 
			 2005 27,504 
			 2006 21,758 
		
	
	On average, referrals to debt collection agents represent 1.8 per cent. of the total number of borrowers. These data should not be equated with the number of loan accounts in arrears; cases may be referred more than once in a year and debt collection agents are asked to locate borrowers as well as to collect loans.
	There was a particular drive in 2004/05 to tackle longstanding cases via external collection agents but the volume of referrals to collection agents, and the numbers of accounts in arrears are now decreasing.
	There have been no referrals to collection agents of cases under the post 1998 income contingent loan scheme.

Student Safety

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who is responsible for checking that schools have sufficient smoke alarms and fire extinguishers and that they are in working order.

Jim Knight: holding answer 3 July 2006
	The Department for Communities and Local Government recently published guidance for schools on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Fire Safety Risk AssessmentEducational Premises. This states that the responsibility for complying with the Fire Safety Order rests with the responsible person. With a school maintained by a local authority, the duties of the responsible person are likely to be shared between the local authority, the governing body and the head teacher. One of the prime duties of the responsible person is to appoint one or more competent personssomeone with sufficient training, knowledge and experience to carry out the preventive and protective measures required by the Fire Safety Order. The guidance covers what these are. In Part 1, section 3.41 deals with fire detection and warning systems, and 3.42 with firefighting equipment and facilities. They give advice on what to look for in school premises and provide checklists for both detection and firefighting.

Sure Start

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many available places there are on Sure Start schemes in  (a) Yeovil constituency,  (b) Somerset and  (c) the south-west; and what percentage of children are on the Sure Start scheme in each area.

Beverley Hughes: There are two Sure Start children's centres up and running in the constituency of Yeovil offering services to 1,815 children under five and their families including 58 child care places. In Somerset there are 14 children's centres offering services to 10,401(1) children under five and their families including 237 child care places. In the south-west as a whole there are 78 children's centres offering services to 57,155(2) children under five and their families including 2,234 child care places. Data on how many children have accessed services are based on information collected for Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) because data on numbers using children's centres are not yet available.
	There are no Sure Start local programmes in the Yeovil constituency. 2,139 children under four live in areas covered by three SSLPs in Somerset. In all 24,613 children under four live in areas covered by 31 SSLPs in the south-west. The latest information available (at March 2005) shows on average 30 per cent.(3) of children in the Somerset and on average 25 per cent.(4)of children overall in SSLPs in the south-west had significant contact (that is, a home visit or attendance at a centre-based activity) with Sure Start.
	Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) were set up between 1999 and 2003 offering a range of services to children under four years of age and their families living in defined areas. In 2002, Mini Sure Start programmes were set up in rural areas and pockets of deprivation that would not normally be covered by larger SSLPs. All SSLPs and mini programmes are becoming Sure Start children's centres and will offer services to children under five years of age and their families. Information about the percentage of children reached by SSLP services is now collected once a year. The Department does not keep data on how many children have participated in Mini Sure Start programmes. However, each programme typically covers between 150 and 170 children under four in their catchment areas.
	(1) 10,401 children include 2,139 children previously served by the three SSLPs across Somerset that have become children's centres.
	(2 )57,155 children include 24,613 children previously served by the 31 SSLPs across the south-west that have become children's centres.
	 Source:
	Sure Start Local Programme data returns March 2005.

Teach First

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many graduates who have entered teaching via Teach First have continued to work as teachers after the two year commitment had ended.

Jim Knight: Teach First was launched in 2003 and, of the first cohort to complete the two year programme, approximately 45 per cent. have stayed in teaching.

Teachers

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many trained teachers were employed by the East Riding of Yorkshire Education Authority in each of the last 5 years, broken down by subject taught; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of regular qualified teachers in service in the East Riding of Yorkshire local authority for each January from 2000 to 2005, the latest year available. This information is not available broken down by subject taught.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent number of regular qualified teachers in service in the East Riding of Yorkshire local authority, January 2000 to 2005 
			   Total FTE 
			 2000 2,420 
			 2001 2,510 
			 2002 2,530 
			 2003 2,590 
			 2004 2,590 
			 2005 2,630 
			  Source: Annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, (618g).

Tuition Fees

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from  (a) Yeovil constituency,  (b) Somerset and  (c) the south-west are exempt from tuition fees.

Bill Rammell: The number of students from Somerset local authority, and the South West Government Office Region making no contribution to their tuition fees in 2004/05 was 2,830, and 29,700 respectively(1). Data are not available at the constituency level.
	Students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition based on household income. Students from lower income backgrounds are wholly or partially exempt from paying tuition fees.
	From 2006/07 upfront fees are abolished and full-time students will be eligible for tuition fee loans of up to 3,000. In addition, we expect around 30 per cent. of students to receive a maximum maintenance grant of 2,700 and an HE institution bursary of at least 300. Overall, we expect around half of all eligible students to receive at least some maintenance grant.
	(1) Rounded to the nearest 10 students.

Tuition Fees

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from  (a) Houghton and Washington East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area are exempt from tuition fees.

Bill Rammell: The number of students from Sunderland local authority making no contribution to their tuition fees in 2004/05 was 1,740(1). Data are not available at the constituency level.
	Students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition based on household income. Students from lower income backgrounds are wholly or partially exempt from paying tuition fees.
	From 2006/07 up-front fees are abolished and full-time students will be eligible for tuition fee loans of up to 3,000. In addition, we expect around 30 per cent. of students to receive a maximum maintenance grant of 2,700 and an HE institution bursary of at least 300. Overall, we expect around half of all eligible students to receive at least some maintenance grant.
	(1) Rounded to the nearest 10 students.

University Ranking

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will consider creating a system by which to rank universities;
	(2)  what recent representations his Department has received on establishing its own criteria for ranking universities.

Bill Rammell: We have received no formal recent representations on criteria to rank universities nor do we have any immediate plans to create a ranking system. However, we have started to make more comparative information available to prospective students. However, there is currently no consensus on how English higher education institutions could be ranked taking due account of their increasingly diverse size and missions and distinguishing between inputs and outputs. We will listen to any suggestions on possible ways forward.

Weapons (Schools)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken by his Department to provide security measures to ensure that  (a) knives and  (b) guns are not taken into schools.

Jim Knight: School security is a local matter. Under health and safety law, it is for individual school employers to determine what measures a school should take to keep pupils and staff safe. In the main, schools are very safe places and the majority of pupils have never carried a knife. It is a criminal offence to carry an offensive weapon on school premises. Where schools have suspicions they can call the police, and should do so if they believe pupils or staff are at risk of serious harm. Schools and local police can agree a Safer School Partnership to prevent crime in and around a school. We also propose a power in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill to enable schools to search, without consent, pupils they suspect are carrying a knife or other weapon.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licences for animal experiments were  (a) applied for and  (b) successful in 2004; and for what reasons applications were rejected.

Joan Ryan: In 2004, 595 project licences were applied for and of those 413 were granted in 2004, 122 in 2005 and two in 2006. None were formally refused. Nineteen are still being processed. Thirty nine applications are recorded as not proceeded with.
	A feature of the regulatory regime under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is the discussion that often takes place at an early stage between applicants (or prospective applicants) and the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate. This means that proposals unlikely to meet the Act's stringent requirements are revised or withdrawn before formal refusal becomes necessary.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) age and  (b) sex was of each of those made subject to an antisocial behaviour order in the Bristol local authority area in each year since their introduction.

Tony McNulty: The available information is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of ASBOs issued, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, where restrictions are imposed within the local government authority area of Bristol city council, by period, sex and age group, from 1 June 2000( 1)  to 30 September 2005 (latest available) 
			   Males (age)  Females (age) 
			  Period  10-17  18+  Unknown  Total  10-17  18+  Unknown  Total 
			 1 June to 31 December 2000 1 1  2 
			 2001 (2)5 2 1 8  1  1 
			 2002 2 2  4  1  1 
			 2003 4 5  9 
			 2004 15 17  32  5 1 6 
			 1 January to 30 September 2005 3 14 1 18  2 1 3 
			 Total 30 41 2 73  9 2 11 
		
	
	
		
			   Persons (age) 
			  Period  10-17  18+  Unknown  Total 
			 1 June to 31 December 2000 1 1  2 
			 2001 5 3 1 9 
			 2002 2 3  5 
			 2003 4 5  9 
			 2004 15 22 1 38 
			 1 January to 30 September 2005 3 16 2 21 
			 Total 30 50 4 84 
			 (1) From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area. (2) Includes one order made at Bristol magistrates courtpetty sessional area only known.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps he has taken to ensure that the supporting documents produced by asylum applicants are recorded.

John Reid: Any document presented by an applicant at their screening interview in relation to their identity, nationality or route taken to the UK is retained by the screening officer, the applicant is given a copy, and a copy placed on file.
	The screening form includes a question 7.38 What other documents do you have (Record full details and attach copies of all documents to this screening form). The applicant and screening officer both sign the screening form at the end of the interview.
	The Casework Integrated Database has a field for recording documents that have been submitted, the screening officer will update that field, any additional entries will be recorded under the name of the officer who added the information. CID would also record the date and time of any amendments.
	It is also practice in the ASU to record on the file minute sheet documents that have been retained.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is taken in respect of immigration and asylum applicants who are assessed by Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials as posing a security risk.

John Reid: Where an individual in question is assessed as posing a security risk, and is overseas and is seeking to enter the United Kingdom, they will be excluded. Those applicants assessed as posing a security risk who are already present in the UK, we will seek to deport, consistent with our international human rights obligations.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what language qualifications are required of employees of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: All Home Office employees are expected to demonstrate competency in the English language. For those in more operational roles such as immigration officers there is a provision to demonstrate proficiency in languages other than English.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the director general of the immigration and nationality directorate last considered his policy on the quality of decisions made by staff.

John Reid: The policy on the quality of casework decisions made by staff is kept under constant review.

Asylum/Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate hold dual citizenship.

John Reid: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to improve the speed of access to the immigration and nationality directorate website; how many complaints the IND has received about this problem; what the estimated cost is of the necessary remedial measures; and when he expects the site to be fully operational.

John Reid: The immigration and nationality directorate website was re-launched on Wednesday 7 June 2006. Visitors to the site should now find it much faster to access. During the time the site was running slowly, the IND web team received approximately 600 complaints.

CCTV

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the installation of CCTV cameras on levels of crime in Beverley in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The scheme in Beverley was installed at a cost of 203,000. The local police in Beverley have indicated that the presence of CCTV plays an important part in their operational work to prevent and detect crime. The quality of cameras, colour images on screens, recording, storage and photographic reproduction provides the possibility of admissible evidence for court proceedings against offenders.

Compensation Claims

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial support is available for people found to be not guilty during their trial to investigate the circumstances and make claims for compensation against the Crown Prosecution Service and the police.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	Any party who qualifies for legal aid under the standard means and merits criteria can obtain legal advice and information, or legal representation, for any civil proceedings which are within the scope of the legal aid scheme, including proceedings against the Crown Prosecution Service and the police.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter dated 26 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr. Rashid Mahmood.

John Reid: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 16 March 2006.

Crime Statistics (Suffolk)

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries have been recorded in Suffolk in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given below.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded burglary offences in Suffolk2000-01 and 2001-02 
			   Number of offences 
			 2000-01 5,738 
			 2001-02 6,346 
			  Note: The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded burglary offences in Suffolk2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Number of offences 
			 2002-03 6,248 
			 2003-04 6,396 
			 2004-05 5,090 
			  Note: The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Criminal Records Bureau

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total amount was paid to Capita as  (a) service payments and  (b) performance-related payments during each year of the Criminal Records Bureau's operation.

Joan Ryan: Capita do not operate the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The disclosure service operates as a contract between the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita Business Services based upon a public private partnership agreement. Under this agreement, Capita are required to perform contractually specified services and to develop, deliver and maintain the technical infrastructure of the disclosure service. This is to enable the Home Office to discharge its responsibilities under part V of the Police Act 1997 and other supporting legislation, including the Protection of Children Act 1999, to make available to approved organisations information regarding the criminal or related background of individuals.
	Other services carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau that are not undertaken by Capita are carried out by civil servants and include the sensitive matching of an applicants personal details to records held on the Police National Computer (PNC) and other lists held by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills.
	A contract schedule sets out the service levels for Capita to meet. A further schedule sets out the service credits that apply should Capita fail to meet the agreed service levels. There is provision within this contract for liquidated damages to be charged in the event of late delivery to agreed changes in the service.
	In each year since financial year 2001-02, the following payments have been received from Capita for service credits and liquidated damages:
	
		
			   Amount () 
			 2001-02 555,000 
			 2002-03 1,718,000 
			 2003-04 1,528,000 
			 2004-05 53,000 
			 2005-06 92,000 
		
	
	The hon. Member will appreciate that with a contract of this size and complexity, the CRB would not be able to list and explain the context of each occasion when service credits and liquidated damages have occurred without employing disproportionate resources.
	However, as an illustration, between August 2001 and November 2001, liquidated damages were applied due to the delays in launching the disclosure service and some of the associated services. Subsequent service credits were also applied in 2003 for operational delays within the disclosure process. These payments relate to the early years of the service.
	The contract was originally estimated at 400 million to run over 10 years. In each year since financial year 2001-02, CRB have paid Capita the following as service payments:
	
		
			   million 
			   Amount 
			 2001-02 12.1 
			 2002-03 33.5 
			 2003-04 58.5 
			 2004-05 44.1 
			 2005-06 47 
		
	
	There have been no performance related-payments made in any of the above financial years.

Departmental Grants

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which faith-based organisations his Department has made grants in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) the amount and  (b) purpose.

John Reid: The information could be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Legislation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legislation has been introduced by his Department in each year since 1996, broken down by type; and whether Royal Assent was given in the case of each Bill.

John Reid: The following is a list of all Government Bills and Private Member's/Peer's Bills on Home Office subjects that have received Royal Assent since the beginning of the 1995-96 session.
	 Royal Assent received during the 1995-96 session
	Wild Mammals (Protection) Act
	Prevention of Terrorism (Additional Powers) Act
	Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act
	Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act
	Sexual Offences (Conspiracy and Incitement) Act
	Offensive Weapons Act
	Security Service Act
	Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act
	Hong Kong (War Wives and Widows) Act
	Prisoners' Earnings Act
	Asylum and Immigration Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 1996-97 session
	Theft (Amendment) Act
	Horserace Totalisator Board Act
	Firearms (Amendment) Act
	Knives Act
	British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act
	Crime (Sentences) Act
	Police Act
	Police and Firemen's Pensions Act
	Protection from Harassment Act
	Sex Offenders Act
	Public Entertainments Licences (Drug Misuse) Act
	Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act
	Prisons (Alcohol Testing) Act
	Criminal Evidence (Amendment) Act
	Police (Health and Safety) Act
	Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act
	Police (Property) Act
	Police (Insurance of Voluntary Assistants) Act
	Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 1997-98 session
	Firearms (Amendment) (No.2) Act
	Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act
	Criminal Justice (International Co-Operation) Act
	Data Protection Act
	Crime and Disorder Act
	Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act
	Human Rights Act
	Registration of Political Parties Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 1998-99 session
	European Parliamentary Elections Act
	Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act
	Football (Offences and Disorder) Act
	Criminal Cases Review (Insanity) Act
	Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act
	Immigration and Asylum Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 1999-2000 session
	Representation of the People Act
	Terrorism Act
	Football (Disorder) Act
	Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
	Licensing (Young Persons) Act
	Disqualifications Act
	Freedom of Information Act
	Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act
	Race Relations (Amendment) Act
	Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act
	Criminal Justice and Court Services Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 2000-01 session
	Vehicles (Crime) Act
	Election Publications Act
	Elections Act
	Criminal Justice and Police Act
	House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act
	Private Security Industry Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 2001-02 session
	Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act
	Football Disorder (Amendment) Act
	Proceeds of Crime Act
	Police Reform Act
	Mobile Telephones (Reprogramming) Act
	Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 2002-03 session
	Criminal Justice Act
	Sexual Offences Act
	Crime (International Co-operation) Act
	Extradition Act
	Antisocial behaviour Act
	Female Genital Mutilation Act.
	 Royal Assent received during the 2003-04 session.
	Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act
	Domestic Violence, Crime  Victims Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 2004-05 session
	Prevention of Terrorism Act
	Serious Organised Crime and Police Act
	Drugs Act
	 Royal Assent received during the 2005-06 session
	Racial  Religious Hatred Act
	Identity Cards Act
	Immigration, Asylum  Nationality Act
	Terrorism Act
	 The following Bills on Home Office subjects are currently before Parliament:
	The Charities Bill
	The Fraud Bill
	The Police and Justice Bill
	The Violent Crime Reduction Bill
	The following table lists the number of statutory instruments, Orders in Council and local orders made by the Home Office in each year since 1996:
	
		
			  SIs, Orders in Council, and Local Orders 1996 to 2006 (up to 25 May 2006) 
			   Statutory Instruments  Orders in Council  Local Orders  Total 
			 1996 77 24 10 111 
			 1997 135 48 8 191 
			 1998 97 28 15 140 
			 1999 90 14 9 113 
			 2000 126 21 5 152 
			 2001 118 18 2 138 
			 2002 136 11 0 147 
			 2003 146 10 1 157 
			 2004 145 1 1 147 
			 2005 127 3 1 131 
			 2006 37 1 1 39 
			 Total1,466

Deportations

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of its potential liability for compensation to the victims and their families following an offence committed by an individual who has been released from prison and has failed to have been deported or removed by the Home Office and its responsible agencies.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 3 May 2006
	We would not expect there to be any significant exposure to liability in civil law applying the normal principles. Victims of violent crime are of course entitled to apply for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in the normal way.

DNA Database

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests have been received from other nations for details from the national DNA database concerning people who were added to the database when they were under 18 years and not charged or cautioned with any offence.

Joan Ryan: Requests for the exchange of DNA information between the United Kingdom and other countries are usually made through the United Kingdom National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Other requests may be made as a result of bi-lateral direct liaison between law enforcement authorities; and formal mutual legal assistance channels.
	We understand from SOCA that it has not received any requests from other countries for details from the National DNA Database concerning people who had a DNA sample taken and added to the database when they were under 18 years of age and who were not charged or cautioned with any offence. No data are available on the number, if any, of exchanges of DNA information in such cases which occur through direct liaison between law enforcement authorities or formal mutual legal assistance channels.

Drug Intervention Programme

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases in the Drug Intervention Programme  (a) handling stolen goods,  (b) attenuated acquisitive crime and  (c) begging was the trigger for a drugs test in 2004-05.

Vernon Coaker: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member on 1 March 2006,  Official Report, column 811W.

Ethnic Minority Community Liaison

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with representatives from the  (a) African,  (b) North African,  (c) Arab and  (d) Iranian communities since 7 July 2005.

Tony McNulty: All Home Secretaries and their Ministers meet with representative groups from an array of countries and organisations during the course of their duties.

Foreign Criminals

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals who are in UK prisons have previously been imprisoned in the UK; for what offences they were imprisoned; and what the dates are of their previous  (a) convictions and  (b) imprisonment.

John Reid: The information requested is not available centrally and establishing it from case files would incur disproportionate cost.

Foreign Criminals

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a policy has been introduced that all foreign national prisoners are placed in category C prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	No. The policy on categorisation remains unchanged. The overriding purpose of categorisation remains to ensure that prisoners are retained in custody with a level of security consistent with the need to protect the public.

Knives

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knives have been handed in during the current amnesty in  (a) Beverley and Holderness and  (b) Humberside Police Authority area; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Figures for the number of items handed in during the first week of the knife amnesty have been collected at police force level. Humberside police report that 259 items were surrendered to them. 17,715 items were handed in England and Wales during the first week of the amnesty. We worked closely with ACPO to develop the arrangements for the amnesty, which was part of our wider strategy to tackle knife crime. We are also focusing on legislation, enforcement, education and prevention. We have brought forward provisions in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill that will raise the age at which someone can be sold a knife to 18; are introducing a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon; and giving head teachers powers to search pupils for knives. The Home Secretary announced on 19 June that he was giving very serious consideration to the suggestion that the maximum sentence for having a knife or blade in a public place should be increased from the current sentence of two years.
	Many police forces are undertaking tough enforcement operations, for example, the Metropolitan police's Operation Blunt and the British Transport police's Operation Shield, which uses search equipment to detect those carrying knives and other weapons on our transport network. We are also supporting educational initiatives that demonstrate to young people the dangers of carrying knives, and reinforce the message that carrying a knife can result in it being turned on you. Though our small grants programme, the Connected Fund, we are also supporting a wide range of local community projects which work with young people to provide mentoring, training, education and other support.

Leave to Remain

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants from each of the countries which joined the EU in May 2005 have outstanding applications for leave to remain under the one-off exercise announced on 24 October 2003.

John Reid: I am advised that as of 16 June 2006, 20 principal applicants from these countries have outstanding applications.
	This figure is from internal management information.

London Terrorist Attacks

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those seriously injured in the terrorist attacks on 7 July 2005 have received  (a) partial and  (b) full compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 8 May 2006
	As at 21 June 2006 the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) had received 522 applications for compensation arising from the incidents on 7 and 21 July 2005. They had offered 255 final awards and 165 interim awards, and had paid out over 2frac14; million in respect of these claims.
	CICA advise that they have made large interim awards in 17 cases where the injuries might be described as extremely serious. These injuries include loss of one or more limbs, loss of an eye, and serious burns to extensive areas of the body.
	CICA have not yet been able to finalise any of these seriously injured cases, as they all involve claims for compensation additional to the basic tariff awards for loss of earnings and special expenses, and in all cases the final prognosis for recovery is not yet clear.
	CICA will continue to make substantial interim awards in cases where final settlement is not in prospect, provided they have a police report confirming the claimant's involvement in one of the incidents and a medical report confirming the nature and extent of the injuries.
	We announced on 8 June 2006 that we were making an extra donation of 2.5 million to the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund to give assistance to bereaved and the injured victims of the 7 July London bombings. The further support was being made on a special, one-off basis in recognition of the exceptional circumstances of the London bombings, rather than under the rules of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which would require a change to legislation 8 June 2006,  Official Report, column 38WS.

North Yorkshire Constabulary

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) regular constables and  (b) community support officers have been recruited to the North Yorkshire constabulary in the last 12 months.

Tony McNulty: In the period 1 June 2005-31 May 2006 the North Yorkshire constabulary have recruited  (a) 114 police officers and  (b) 12 police community support officers.

Offenders (Unpaid Work)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the funds saved through the use of unpaid work by offenders in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to give a precise figure but the following table provides a broad estimate of the value of the unpaid work done by offenders since 1995. It takes no account of the costs to the probation service of managing the work. Orders that include unpaid work vary in length but the calculation is based on the average number of hours per order. An allowance has been made for the fact that not all offenders complete their orders. The estimated total number of hours has been multiplied by the national minimum wage for each year. (Because the minimum wage came into force in 1999, the introductory figure of 3.60 has been used for 1995 to 1998.)
	
		
			   Estimated total value ( million) 
			 1995 18.0 
			 1996 17.5 
			 1997 18.4 
			 1998 19.2 
			 1999 19.2 
			 2000 19.0 
			 2001 18.7 
			 2002 21.1 
			 2003 21.7 
			 2004 24.4

Passports

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have applied for a passport in each of the last eight years; and how many of those who have applied were rejected due to the applicant's  (a) criminal record and  (b) antisocial behaviour in each year.

Joan Ryan: The number of passport applications received by the Identity and Passport Service (formerly UKPS) in each of the last eight calendar years is in the following table.
	A criminal record or a record of antisocial behaviour does not disqualify a British national from holding a passport and applicants are not required to give this information. If notified by the police, the IPS would refuse a passport to a person for whose arrest a warrant had been issued in the United Kingdom, or a person who was wanted by the United Kingdom police on suspicion of a serious crime.
	
		
			   Passport applications 
			 1998 4,834,000 
			 1999 4,685,000 
			 2000 5,150,000 
			 2001 5,692,000 
			 2002 5,570,000 
			 2003 5,635,000 
			 2004 6,134,000 
			 2005 6,539,000

People Trafficking

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of children trafficked into the UK in the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 15 June 2006
	We have no centrally collated data on the numbers of children trafficked into the UK. The Home Office recognises there is an urgent need to improve its intelligence on this issue and for this reason has commissioned a scoping project in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to estimate the scale and nature of the problem including source countries. Additionally newly established Minors Intelligence Teams based at Croydon and Liverpool asylum screening units now provide monthly reports on children who have been identified as being at risk, including those that they believe have been trafficked.

People Trafficking

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 20 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1840-41W, on people trafficking, what proposals for combating human trafficking were discussed at the G8 meeting on 15 and 16 June.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 3 July 2006
	Both the Attorney General and my hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety addressed the issue of human trafficking when addressing G8 Justice and Interior Ministers in Moscow 15 and 16 June. They urged that the G8 step up its work in tackling organised human trafficking and referred to a UK-led project to establish ways of further enhancing cooperation and the exchange of intelligence to combat organised trafficking and smuggling.
	G8 Justice and Interior Ministers stressed the importance of cooperation with Interpol as well as Europol to enhance the efficiency of cooperation in the fight against smuggling and human trafficking and the use of the Interpol Lost, Stolen and Invalid Passports Database. They also called for increased interaction with relevant UN institutions, as well as the International Organization for Migration, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization, and the Europol in combating illegal migration.

People Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to meet their obligations under Section 7 of the Council of the European Union's Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings to ensure appropriate assistance is provided for the families of child victims of trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 21 June 2006
	The Council of the European Union's Framework Decision on combating the trafficking in human beings, places certain obligations on member states to criminalise and prosecute traffickers, and to protect and support victims of trafficking. Under Article 7, paragraph 3 (Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA) member states are obliged to take the measures possible to ensure appropriate assistance for the family of a child victim of trafficking.
	All agencies and organisations within the criminal justice system aim to work in partnership to meet the needs of all victims of crime, including young victims. Advice and information will be offered to families in line with the detailed provisions of Article 4, (Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA), cross referenced in Article 7 (Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA), on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings.

People Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) prosecuted for and  (b) convicted of trafficking people since Sections 4 and 5 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 came into force.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 20 June 2006
	To date there have been no prosecutions or convictions for trafficking under section 4 and 5 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004.

Police (Cultural Items)

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many specialist police there are with responsibility for theft and other crimes relating to cultural items in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: There is no specific data collected for the number of police officers with responsibility for theft and other crimes relating to cultural items.
	As at 31 March 2005, there were 727 full-time equivalent police officers whose main function was burglary. This includes staff who predominantly investigate offences of burglary. In the same period there were 16,887 full-time equivalent police officers whose main function was CID. This includes staff mainly employed in plain clothes for the investigation of crime, and includes any specialist squads, e.g. robbery.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place a much larger proportion of short-term prisoners in open prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The length of a person's prison sentence is not the primary determinant for their categorisation. Prisoners are placed in the lowest security category consistent with the needs of security and control and the need to protect the public. Prisoners are subject to a rigorous and robust risk assessment when being categorised. Only prisoners categorised D and therefore considered to pose a low risk of escape and not represent a threat to the public may be placed in open prisons.

Prison Sentences

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who listed a residential address in Hartlepool constituency at the time of sentencing received a prison sentence in each year since 1990.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There is no information recorded on the Court Proceedings database relating to the home addresses of persons sentenced. The information contained in the table shows, however, the number of persons sentenced to immediate custody in the Hartlepool Petty Sessional Area (PSA) (sitting at Hartlepool Magistrates Court) or committed by Hartlepool Magistrates Court to the Crown Court for trial or sentence from 1990 to 2004, the latest year for which data are available.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced to immediate custody by the Hartlepool PSA( 1) , 1990 to 2004 
			   Number of persons 
			 1990 104 
			 1991 92 
			 1992 106 
			 1993 106 
			 1994 138 
			 1995 161 
			 1996 200 
			 1997 181 
			 1998 247 
			 1999 242 
			 2000 269 
			 2001 292 
			 2002 264 
			 2003 314 
			 2004 260 
			 (1) Including cases sentenced at the Crown court following committal from Hartlepool PSA.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in the Prison Service Security Group; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As at 31 May 2006, 65 staff were employed in the Prison Service Security Group.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many personnel the Prison Service Fraud Investigation Unit employs; how many investigations the unit has undertaken in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment was made by the Prison Service of the risk of fraud in its latest assessment of business risk; what the date was of the last assessment; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how often within the last five years the Prison Service Fraud Investigation Unit interrogated Prison Service corporate data to identify indicators of fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	There are the equivalent of two full-time staff within the Fraud Investigation Unit, which is contained within the Audit and Corporate Assurance Group. The unit has undertaken 90 investigations over the last five years:
	
		
			   Number of investigations 
			 2001-02 25 
			 2002-03 17 
			 2003-04 14 
			 2004-05 15 
			 2005-06 19 
		
	
	Individual establishments and headquarters groups are required to undertake a fraud risk assessment annually and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to mitigate this risk. In addition, one of the key systems in place to manage one of the Prison Service corporate risks measures the effectiveness of compliance with financial controls and standards. The Prison Service Management Board has assessed this as satisfactory at the last assessment on 24 April 2006.
	The Fraud Investigation Unit along with other members of Audit and Corporate Assurance have been fully engaged in advising on the design of major Prison Service systems for human resources, Finance and Procurement, in order to reduce the risk of fraud. Once these systems have been fully implemented, it is intended that the Fraud Investigation Unit will use appropriate software to interrogate corporate data systems. It has not yet happened.

Prisons

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used to determine whether a prisoner should be categorised as category A.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisoners are categorised according to the risk they present to the public, to the police or to the security of the state.

Prisons

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what processes are in place for the review of category A status for prisoners; and what records are kept of such reviews.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The security category of a prisoner is assessed, decided, and kept under review in the light of all available information. The processes in place for reviews of category A status for prisoners are set out in Prison Service Order 1010 which provides for annual reviews of categorisation for sentenced prisoners. Records are kept in the prisoners file at prisons and also at Prison Service headquarters.

Prisons

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the judiciary has changed the status of a category A prisoner to facilitate the prisoner's attendance at trial in the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service has responsibility for categorisation of prisoners. The judiciary cannot change the status of a category A prisoner to facilitate their attendance at trial.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates were being held in open conditions who had previously been Category A or Category B prisoners on 31 December of each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only by examination of individual records at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect by 2010 on  (a) the prison population and  (b) prison costs of requiring all prisoners currently under sentence to serve their full sentences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Projections of the prison population in 2010 if all prisoners were to serve to their sentence expiry date have not been produced. Prison population projections to 2011 have been produced for a range of scenarios and are published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/05, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of whether access to  (a) naltraczone,  (b) subutex and  (c) methadone would increase the exchange of illegal drugs within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prison Service Order 3550 requires that the administration and consumption of prescribed drugs used in maintenance and detoxification programmes is strictly monitored. In possession medication is not indicated for subutex and methadone. Naltrexone is an opiate antagonist which does not have the same potential for abuse as methadone and buprenorphine (subutex).
	A comprehensive range of measures is in place to reduce the supply of drugs in prisons, including routes from prescribed medication.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place within the Prison Service to advise the  (a) police and  (b) probation service of unexpected changes in prisoners' release dates brought about by restoration of remission boards; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Governors are required to notify the police and probation service of the release dates for offenders. In the specific case of high risk offenders coming under Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements, Governors must ensure that all staff involved in sentence calculation, decisions to restore 'added days' and facilitating release arrangements for high risk prisoners are aware of the need to advise the police and probation service immediately of any unexpected changes to release dates or release arrangements. In all cases where a prisoner is released on licence, a copy of the licence is sent to the supervising probation service shortly before release, and is updated in the event of any change in release date.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the  (a) availability and  (b) use of (i) naltraczone, (ii) subutex and (iii) methadone in dealing with drug addiction within the prison estate.

Vernon Coaker: Naltrexone, subutex and methadone are used in the management of those who are addicted to opiates, and as such they can be used as treatment interventions in prison.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers have been reinstated after dismissal in each prison in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information is not available centrally on the number of prison officers who have been reinstated following dismissal in each of the last three years. This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on the overcrowding rate in female prison establishments of the re-roling of HM Prison  (a) Bullwood Hall and  (b) Brockhill; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The impact of the allocation of women prisoners from Bullwood Hall and Brockhill in the women's estate has been assessed and no overcrowding is expected as a result of this change of function. There is still spare capacity within the women's estate.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are carried out by the Prison Service into the nationality of prisoners entering prison establishments who claim to be British; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prison Service Order 0500 requires prison reception staff to interview all incoming prisoners and note their stated nationality in the prisoner's core record. Any passport or other document providing evidence of the prisoner's nationality will be examined but prison staff do not have the means to carry out any specific checks to confirm the nationality of prisoners claiming to be British. Prisons will report the details of all prisoners who state that they are foreign nationals or dual nationals, all those whose nationality is initially unclear and all those who refuse to give their nationality to the Immigration Service who will then establish their immigration status.
	As the Home Secretary outlined in his ministerial statement of 23 May, officials are now looking at the possibility of placing a legal obligation on those suspected, charged or convicted to declare their nationality.

Prisons

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times officials of his Department have met officials at HMP Peterborough since 1 January to discuss prisoner releases from HMP Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office controller for HMP Peterborough is the key official who meets with the prison's director to discuss operational matters, including the release of prisoners. Formal meetings take place monthly and in addition there are informal weekly meetings. Since January 2006 the controller has discussed with the director cases involving the release of eight individual prisoners, including five meetings between April and June concerning the release of foreign national prisoners.
	It is a requirement that release licences for prisoners are signed by the Home Office controller in his or her capacity as a Crown servant. As a consequence of this the contractor's custody management team is in regular contact with the controller's team, who make the necessary checks prior to release taking place.

Prisons

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prisoners were detained at HMP Peterborough as at  (a) 31 March 2005 and  (b) 31 May 2006; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many prisoners were transferred to HMP Peterborough in the six months to 31 May; from which institutions; how many new prisoners were admitted to HMP Peterborough in the same period; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many  (a) male and  (b) female category A prisoners are held at HMP Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 June 2006
	There are no category A prisoners held at HMP Peterborough. From information held on the prison IT system, there were 18 prisoners held in HMP Peterborough on 31 March 2005 (the establishment opened in spring 2005) and 759 held on 30 April 2006, the most recent date for which information has been published; and between 1 October 2005 and 31 March 2006 there were 1,208 first receptions into HMP Peterborough. Comprehensive information on transfers between prisons is not collected routinely and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the re-offending rate is for prisoners who have absconded from HMP Sudbury in the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	Information on re-offending is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the  (a) Prison Service and  (b) police have regarding the capture of absconded prisoners; and what measures are in place to ensure there is liaison between them.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	Prisons immediately inform the police in the event of an abscond and provide them with all relevant details of the prisoner. The police are responsible for recapturing prisoners unlawfully at large.

Prisons

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have absconded from HMP Sudbury while on the resettlement programme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	Centrally held records do not separately identify whether absconders are part of the resettlement programme and this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value was of property stolen from the Prison Service in the year ending  (a) 31 March 2005 and  (b) 31 March 2006; and how many prosecutions arose therefrom.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	In the financial year ended 31 March 2005, there were 37 reported fraud and theft cases with a total value of 5,902. Of these, there were 10 cases with a value of 4,549 due to theft of property. In the financial year ended 31 March 2006, there were 30 cases of fraud and theft with a total value of 5,268. Of these, there were 15 cases with a total value of 3,157 due to theft of property. The Prison Service is aware of four cases with a total value of 8,169 that occurred in 2005-06 and are still under investigation and not yet recorded in the figures above.
	The police are informed of most cases of theft of property but no records are kept centrally of the number of prosecutions resulting.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many conflicts of interest were registered in the local registers of conflicts of interest within the Prison Service at  (a) each London prison establishment,  (b) the London area office and  (c) each Prison Service directorate for the year ending March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	No central register of conflicts of interest is available from which readily to obtain the information requested. Each individual establishment or group should maintain its own register. Prison Service directorates are not required to compile a register. Given the time constraints and the disproportionate resource costs involved, it is not possible to provide the figures requested.

Prisons

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research  (a) he has evaluated and  (b) he plans to commission on the incidence of adult attention deficit hyperactivity in penal institutions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No such research has yet been commissioned or evaluated.

Prisons

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average monthly number of prisoners were accommodated at HMP Full Sutton in 2005-06; how many of those prisoners had been given a sentence of more than six months; and how many prisoners had been resident at HMP Full Sutton for more than six months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: According to the prison IT system, (i) the average number of prisoners held in Full Sutton between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 was 588 (average of end-month figures) and (ii) the number serving sentences of more than six months at end April 2006 was 567. Information on the number held in Full Sutton for more than six months is not held centrally.

Prisons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support is available for those with severe personality disorders upon their release from  (a) prisons and  (b) HMP Lewes; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 29 June 2006
	The Home Office and Department of Health have established the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme. This has developed a range of pilot services in prisons, high and medium secure psychiatric services and residential and case management support in the community in four areas of England.
	At present only the prison and high secure pilot services provide some national coverage for those who pose the most serious risk to the public. Access to local medium secure and community pilots is only available to local catchment populations in the pilot areas until evaluation is completed (in 2008) and future service roll out is agreed.
	HMP Lewes has access to mainstream mental health services through an NHS mental health in-reach which can plan aftercare for prisoners released to the community. The development of new community personality disorder services form part of the local priority service development plans.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on family contact for female prisoners from the West Midlands of the re-roling of HMP Brockhill as a male prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The average distance from home area for most women transferred from Brockhill will increase, while remaining within the average for all women prisoners. All women's prisons have arrangements designed to promote family contact.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prison cells and  (b) prison wings deemed not fit for habitation by HM inspectorate of prisons have subsequently been kept open at any point in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Recommendations by HM chief inspector of prisons to close or refurbish prison cells or wing in a prison are considered as part of the National Offender Management Service's building and refurbishment programme. Decisions on which of these are accepted are based on a number of factors, including priorities across the prison estate, funding and any impact in the operation of the prison.
	The information requested can be supplied only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1212W, on Leyhill Open Prison, how many of the prisoners who escaped and were subsequently captured have been  (a) charged and  (b) convicted of escape from lawful custody; and what sentence was given in each such case where proceedings are complete.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not held centrally and may be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what religious teaching is available to prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Chaplaincy programmes, which include religious teaching, are developed locally by prison establishments. All prisons have multi faith chaplaincy teams to enable prisoners to participate in religious activities and to encourage their spiritual and personal development whilst in custody and in preparation for release. Chaplaincy teams will run a range of classes and courses depending on the make-up and needs of the prison population. These will include religious education groups or classes, pertinent to all faiths, for those prisoners who wish to attend.

Rendition Flights

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether general aviation reports held by  (a) local police special branch and  (b) Home Office immigration authorities indicate that non-American nationals were on board registered aircraft (i) N8068V landing at RAF Northolt on (A) 15 May 2004 and (B) 17 May 2004, (ii) N129QS landing at Stansted on 23 February 2005, (iii) N970SJ landing at Luton on (A) 4 September 2003 and (B) 5 February 2004, (iv) N368CE landing at (A) Stansted on 6 May 2004 and (B) Luton on 17 June 2003 and (v) N2189M landing at Prestwick on (A) 18 January 2004 and (B) 25 May 2004;
	(2)  whether general aviation reports held by  (a) local police special branch and  (b) Home Office immigration authorities indicate that non-American nationals were on board registered aircraft N313P landing at (i) RAF Northolt on (A) 19 October 2003, (B) 22 October 2003, (C) 29 October 2003, (D) 1 December 2003, (E) 3 December 2003 and (ii) RAF Brize Norton on (A) 17 October 2003 and (B) 12 December 2003;
	(3)  whether general aviation reports held by  (a) local police special branch and  (b) Home Office immigration authorities indicate that non-American nationals were on board registered aircraft N379P landing at (i) RAF Northolt on (A) 18 October 2002, (B) 16 January 2003, (C) 24 February 2003, (D) 28 February 2003 and (ii) RAF Brize Norton on 20 November 2003;
	(4)  whether general aviation reports held by  (a) local police special branch and  (b) Home Office immigration authorities indicate that non-American nationals were on board registered aircraft N85VM landing at (i) Luton on (A) 26 December 2001 and (B) 12 November 2002, (ii) Edinburgh on 25 November 2002, (iii) Glasgow on 3 March 2003 and (iv) RAF Leuchars on (A) 14 October 2001, (B) 5 October 2002 and (C) 20 September 2003.

Tony McNulty: Neither Special Branch nor the Immigration Service hold such information.

Resignation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he used in deciding to offer his resignation to the Prime Minister.

John Reid: This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the former Home Secretary.

Security Industry

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licence applications for operatives working in the private security industry were submitted  (a) before and  (b) after 31 October 2005.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 21 June 2006
	The information is as follows.
	 (a) 69,553 applications were submitted from the beginning of licensing until 31 October 2005.
	 (b) 99,239 applications were submitted between 31 October 2005 and 21 June 2006.

Security Industry

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Security Industry Authority; and what was discussed at the meeting.

Vernon Coaker: Ministers and officials meet the SIA regularly to discuss a range of issues. I became the Minister with responsibility for the SIA on 4 May, and visited the SIA offices on 1 June to meet staff.

Security Industry

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to provide a substantive reply to Question 59554, on the Security Industry Authority, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 14 March.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 2013W.

Security Industry

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time for an application for registration as a door supervisor with the Security Industry Authority to be processed has been since establishment of the authority.

Vernon Coaker: The SIA do not calculate average processing times. Some, such as those including overseas criminal records checks, unavoidably take a considerable time. The SIA have a published target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system to the date that a licence is issued. From April 2004 until August 2005 the SIA processed 62 per cent. within six weeks and 88 per cent. within nine weeks. Since September 2005, there has been a backlog of applications that have been waiting to enter the system. These have added an additional time of between two and four weeks to the process, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications.

Security Industry

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it has taken on average to process an application for a door supervisor's licence to the Security Industry Authority in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) do not calculate the average processing times for applications. Some, such as those involving overseas criminal records checks, unavoidably take a considerable time. The SIA have a published target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system to the date that a licence is issued.
	From April 2004 until August 2005 the SIA processed 62 per cent. within six weeks and 88 per cent. within nine weeks. Since September 2005, there has been a backlog of applications that have been waiting to enter the system. These have added an additional time of between two and four weeks to the process, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications.

Security Industry

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when the Security Industry Authority will reinstate the online application facility; and what alternative methods have been put in place for urgent applications;
	(2)  for what reasons the Security Industry Authority has suspended the facility for making online applications for door supervisors' licences.

Vernon Coaker: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has a number of methods of ordering application forms. Application forms are available from the SIA call centre, the bulk applications department (which was set up in 2005 to enable companies to order volumes of application forms), and via the SIA website. Due to a high volume of requests, most of which were duplicate requests, the website ordering system was temporarily suspended for one month from 24 May to 27 June. The SIA deals with all licences with the same level of urgency. Currently, the SIA have no plans to implement an applicant fast-tracking system.

Sentencing Bodies (Appointments)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what process is used to appoint members to the  (a) Sentencing Guidelines Council and  (b) Sentencing Advisory Panel; how vacancies are advertised in each case; and what criteria are used to assess candidates.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Under section 167 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, as amended by Schedule, Part 1, paragraph 357 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chief Justice appoints the seven judicial members of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. The four non-judicial members of the Council are appointed by the Home Secretary after consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice. A person is eligible to be appointed as a judicial member if he is: a Lord Justice of Appeal; a judge of the High Court; a circuit judge; a district judge (magistrates courts); or a lay justice. The judicial members must include a circuit judge, a district judge and a lay judge. A non-judicial member is eligible if he has experience in one of more of the following areas: policing, criminal prosecution, criminal defence, and the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime.
	The Lord Chief Justice nominated the President of the Queen's Bench Division, the Vice President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division, the Chair of the Criminal Committee of the Judicial Studies Board, and the Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) to be members of the Council and these appointments were agreed. It was also agreed that the Director of Public Prosecutions would be the member with criminal prosecution experience. The two circuit judges, the lay magistrate and the other non-judicial members were appointed after open competition following advertisements in the national media, and through targeted advertisements in professional publications and websites, including those aimed at BME communities. All appointments were made in accordance with the rules of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) and an independent member sat on the interview panels.
	Members of the Sentencing Advisory Panel are appointed by the Lord Chancellor following consultation with the Home Secretary and the Lord Chief Justice. Panel members are appointed following open competition and are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds both from within and outside the criminal justice system. Panel members serve in a personal capacity, bringing the knowledge and experience they have gained in their professional and voluntary roles to bear on the issues under discussion. As with the appointed members of the Council, advertisements are widely placed and the recruitment process followed the OCPA procedures with an independent member sitting on the interview panels.

UK Presidency (EU)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the priorities of his Department are for the UK Presidency of the EU.

Joan Ryan: Our JHA priorities for the UK's Presidency of the European Union were included in the White Paper on the Prospects for the European Union published on 30 June 2005. We also informed Parliament of our priorities during the course of the UK Presidency, in particular in relation to the JHA Councils on 13 July, 13-14 October and 1-2 December and the JHA Informal on 7-9 September.

UK Presidency (G8)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the priorities of his Department are for the UK presidency of the G8.

Joan Ryan: Many of the priorities for the UK Presidency of the G8 related to the Secure and Facilitated Travel Initiative (SAFTI) a series of measures designed to improve travel security. By the end of our presidency, 20 SAFTI projects had been completed with four carrying into the Russian presidency. We also completed the International Child Sexual Exploitation Database Implementation Study, agreed a document setting out best practice in dealing with internet content, best practice for law enforcement and network providers on preventing and investigating various forms of electronic attack and organised a workshop in Nigeria dealing with the tracing and return of assets.
	We also introduced a number of new initiatives, on the unlawful international supply of firearms for criminal use and in developing mechanisms to enable countries to share DNA data for intelligence purposes in the investigation of crime. At the ministerial meeting held in Sheffield in 2005 Ministers a greed to further work on biometrics, advanced passenger information, human trafficking, drug production in Afghanistan, internet crime and measures to tackle crime and corruption in Africa.

Violent Crime

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded level of violent crime was in Yeovil constituency in  (a) 1996 to 1997 and  (b) 2004-05.

Tony McNulty: Yeovil comes within the South Somerset Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Partnerships were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and data are only available from 1999-2000. There were 3,058 violent crimes recorded by the police in the South Somerset CDRP in 2004-05.

Violent Crime

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes were recorded in the Humberside Police Authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the tables.
	Since 1997, there have been two major changes to the way in which crime is recorded. The effect of the change in counting rules in 1998 was to artificially increase recorded violent crime nationally by more than 80 per cent. while it is estimated that the effect of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 caused a further 20 per cent. increase in recorded violent crime in its first year.
	
		
			 Table 1: Offences of violent crime recorded in Humberside1997 
			   Number of offences 
			 1997 7,758 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences of violent crime recorded in Humberside1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   Number of offences 
			 1998-99 10,947 
			 1999-2000 10,752 
			 2000-01 10,966 
			 2001-02 11,849 
			  Notes:  1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997.  2. The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Offences of violent crime recorded in Humberside2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Number of offences 
			 2002-03 19,360 
			 2003-04 28,482 
			 2004-05 26,855 
			  Note: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Young Offenders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reverse the decline in family visits to inmates at young offender institutions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisoners and young offenders have a statutory entitlement to domestic or social visits. In addition, many establishments offer extended or family visits. The frequency of these additional visits remains a matter for each establishment, taking account of resources and regime. Statistics on the number of visitors are not routinely collated so there is no recent evidence as to the overall level of take up. However, in order to support and encourage more visitors, the Assisted Prisons Visits Scheme, which provides financial assistance for visitors on a low income, was extended in 2004. Good Practice Guidelines have also recently been issued to enable prisons and YOIs to examine and improve the effectiveness of their visits arrangements.

Young Offenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio is of staff to individuals held in custody at  (a) local authority secure units,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) young offenders' institutions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	Staff to trainee ratios are difficult to calculate, for a variety of reasons. For example, some staff spend almost all their time dealing with trainees; others, for example support staff, will have less frequent contact. The following figures are indicative:
	Secure children's homes: the number of staff supervising trainees varies between one member of staff to two children and six staff to eight children.
	Secure training centres: the number of staff supervising trainees ranges between two staff to five to seven trainees and three staff to eight trainees. Other staff at the centre include custody officers to supervise visits, admissions and movements in the centre.
	Young offender institutions: no simple ratio is available. On each wing, there are between 40 and 60 trainees, under the supervision of between three and six staff. In addition, there are teachers, learning support assistants and support staff.

Young Offenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest estimate is of the cost per year per inmate at  (a) local authority secure units,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) young offenders' institutions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 June 2006
	The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales commissions and purchases places in the secure estate for children and young people. It estimates the annual cost per place in 2005-06 as follows:
	
		
			
			 Secure training centre (1)171,500 
			 Young offender institution 50,500 
			 Secure children's home 194,800 
			 1 Includes value added tax.